Pat Robertson speaks out for marijuana legalization

[The30YardSlant]

In that analysis, why?
If the claim is that getting a kid into weed is bad, why would the kid's adult parent smoking it in front of him/her legally be any better? Where else will a kid get his influence from? A major part of the campaign to demonize cigarettes was also predicated on setting a bad example for youth, why add another bad example to the list?

Because adults are just dumb, kids are dumb, ignorant and naive.

 

[Doomsday101]

This is for a different thread but I loathe the social responsibility that I'm told by the media I'm supposed to buy into, as if it's somehow our jobs to make sure others don't screw up their lives. If a guy gets high all day and doesnt work, why should my tax dollars go towards paying his government aid?

This is a problem with our society though, not weed.

Weed would be yet another acceptable excuse. It is legal then comes well the goverment made it legal and now I have a problem and it is up to others to take care of me and my problems and my family.

I agree weed is not the problem it is the culture so why add to a culture who is looking for the free ride for their own screw ups.

 

[Dallas]

I think weed should be legal to adults.

I think people who sell weed to children should be shot.

I think weed should be handled just like Alcohol is. The same rules should apply across the board.

The only stipulation being the quantity a person can have on his person and in his home. Let's be honest, you don't keep a bale of MJ in your house for personal use.

If you look at how Holland has handled it... def a solid starting point.

By legalizing it you also take away the criminal factor and access to other drugs that is ongoing right now and also the acts of violence happening in those transactions.

The dealer selling some weed is also ready to sell you cocaine or heroine or whatever. Think of all of the crime that happens during pot transactions. That would take a substantial hit if it was legal.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

This is a really, really bad comparison. For many reasons.

actually it is isn't

the question why weed is so important to some can also be asked about guns, regardless of any constitutional "right" etc or anything else, football, hockey, soccer

what is important to some is not to others etc

 

[zrinkill]

In that analysis, why?

Freedom as adults. If beer and liqueur is legal .... why not weed?

I personally do none of it ..... my vice is fried food ..... but I see no difference in any of it.

Part of freedom is watching people have the right to do destructive things .... the kids have to know better.

My dad has smoked since he was 15 ...... I never have (other than an occasional cigar in the military)

 

[Doomsday101]

I think weed should be handled just like Alcohol is. The same rules should apply across the board.

The only stipulation being the quantity a person can have on his person and in his home. Let's be honest, you don't keep a bale of MJ in your house for personal use.

If you look at how Holland has handled it... def a solid starting point.

By legalizing it you also take away the criminal factor and access to other drugs that is ongoing right now and also the acts of violence happening in those transactions.

The dealer selling some weed is also ready to sell you cocaine or heroine or whatever. Think of all of the crime that happens during pot transactions. That would take a substantial hit if it was legal.

Weed is not actually legal in any country. Places like Amersterdam do allow people to so called "Coffee Shops" you can't keep a personal stash, you can't smoke it outside and not suppose to smoke it even in your home.

They are also passing a law that would prevent tourist from being able to go to the coffee house. Fact is weed is not actually legal any wheres

 

[The30YardSlant]

actually it is isn't

the question why weed is so important to some can also be asked about guns, regardless of any constitutional "right" etc

what is important to some is not to others etc

But that's just it, you can't simply ignore that whole "constitutional rights" thing. Guns are one of the few rights that are explicitly guranteed to Americans, weed is not.

Then there's the fact that guns aren't phyiscally addictive, don't alter your mental state and nobody ever lost their job because they like to go to the range on the weekends. I'm for legalizing pot but your comparison has too many holes to count. People like guns and weed for completely different reasons, you can't just say "one is important to some and the other to others" because one is a hobby and the other is mentally altering lifestyle. It would be like me compariing alcohol to fishing.

 

[vta]

Because adults are just dumb, kids are dumb, ignorant and naive.

Freedom as adults. If beer and liqueur is legal .... why not weed? I personally do none of it ..... my vice is fried food ..... but I see no difference in any of it.

Part of freedom is watching people have the right to do destructive things .... the kids have to know better. My dad has smoked since he was 15 ...... I never have (other than an occasional cigar in the military)

I agree and also why I disagree with the way the whole cigarette demonization was simply ignored. And no I don't smoke, I just know horse crap when I smell it. I'm starting to sell some more in this new vocal push for legalizing weed.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

But that's just it, you can't simply ignore that whole "constitutional rights" thing. Guns are one of the few rights that are explicitly guranteed to Americans, weed is not.

Then there's the fact that guns aren't phyiscally addictive, don't alter your mental state and nobody ever lost their job because they like to go to the range on the weekends. I'm for legalizing pot but your comparison has too many holes to count.

Does weed kill you? Can it kill thousands in the space of a few minutes?

Your cons also allows the pursuit of happiness, weed makes some happy.

 

[Dallas]

Weed is not actually legal in any country. Places like Amersterdam do allow people to so called "Coffee Shops" you can't keep a personal stash, you can't smoke it outside and not suppose to smoke it even in your home.

They are also passing a law that would prevent tourist from being able to go to the coffee house. Fact is weed is not actually legal any wheres

You can go into a coffee shop and buy up to 5 grams / shop / day. It isn't legal but it also isn't punishable in that country.

People buy that amount all of the time and walk out the front door and go home.

Again...not legal but also not punishable.

 

[Doomsday101]

Does weed kill you? Can it kill thousands in the space of a few minutes?

Your cons also allows the pursuit of happiness, weed makes some happy.

There are many things that make some people happy that are illegal.

Getting pleasure out of something is not grounds for legalization.

 

[Doomsday101]

You can go into that shop and buy up to 5 grams / shop / day. It isn't legal but it also isn't punishable in that country.

People buy that amount all of the time and walk out the front door and go home.

Again...not legal but also not punishable.

It is punishable but often overlooked. There are laws on the book but if the cop looks the other way then of course you will not be punished but even their laws are starting to change. People think is it some utopia and no problem occur that is not true.

 

[Dallas]

It is punishable but often overlooked. There are laws on the book but if the cop looks the other way then of course you will not be punished but even their laws are starting to change. People think is it some utopia and no problem occur that is not true.

We will have to disagree here. I have 2 developers working for me who go home to Holland all of the time.

I am going off what they have told me and I have grilled them on it constantly because our laws here in Alaska are very similar to how Holland handles it.

Wiki has this on Hollands Coffee Shop laws:

Coffee shop law
See also: Drug policy of the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the selling of cannabis is "illegal, but not punishable", so the law is not enforced in establishments following these nationwide rules:

• no advertising
• no hard drug sales on the premises
• no sales to anyone under the age of 18
• no sales transactions exceeding 5 grams
• no public disturbances

For some offenses, a business may be forced to close for three to six months, for others, completely; all this is detailed in official policies.
Coffeeshops are no longer allowed to sell alcohol. Most coffee shops advertise, and the constraint is more moderating than outright prohibitive. In a gesture of discretion still technically required, many coffee shops keep the cannabis menu below the counter, even when the cannabis itself is in more-or-less plain view. Dutch coffee shops often fly red-yellow-green Ethiopian flags, other symbols of the Rastafari movement, or depiction of palm leaves to indicate that they sell cannabis, as a consequence of the official ban on direct advertising. This aesthetic attracted many public artists who get commissions to create murals in the coffee shops and use the Rastafari and reggae related imagery.
Coffeeshops provide non-contaminated cannabis products (and hence are as safe as store-bought tobacco, as far as unexpected chemicals are concerned). Cannabis and any food products containing cannabis are generally clearly identified to prevent accidental consumption.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

There are many things that make some people happy that are illegal.

Getting pleasure out of something is not grounds for legalization.

I really don't care either way but weed doesn't really hurt anyone but the person taking it in most cases, it is also something that most grow out of, if you can make money off it in terms of tax, why not?

 

[Doomsday101]

We will have to disagree here. I have 2 developers working for me who go home to Holland all of the time.

I am going off what they have told me and I have grilled them on it constantly because our laws here in Alaska are very similar to how Holland handles it.

Looking the other way and being legal is different. They do have laws on the books with fines when you break the law. They do not always enforce it.


At one time tourist could go to the coffee shops they can't any longer.

 

[Denim Chicken]

IMHO, I think all drugs should be decrimialized--gambling and prostitution too. But, I'm one of the opinion that one should have dominion over thier own body.

 

[Doomsday101]

I really don't care either way but weed doesn't really hurt anyone but the person taking it in most cases, it is also something that most grow out of, if you can make money off it in terms of tax, why not?

We can collect taxes on many things I actually have no problem legal or not, my problem is with the idiots who get high or get drunk and end up burdens on the rest of us and those who say we must help them. Why it was their fricken choice so I have to pay for some dumb ars choice?

We could be talking weed, alcohol or gambling. My issues are not so much them being legal is it is the morons who can't control it and the burden and cost falls to others. Add yet another substance to the list of so called harmless activities gets pretty expensive for those who are not involved.

 

[Dallas]

Looking the other way and being legal is different. They do have laws on the books with fines when you break the law. They do not always enforce it.


At one time tourist could go to the coffee shops they can't any longer.

State law - Federal law isn't what I am arguing, but I doubt the FBI comes to my house to arrest me for this either, though they could.

Court Rules that Alaska Constitution Protects
Personal Possession of Marijuana in the Home

The Alaska Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the Alaska Constitution’s privacy guarantee protects an adult’s right to possess up to four ounces of marijuana in the home for personal use. The ruling (Noy v. State, No. 1897) overturns the conviction of David Noy, a North Pole medical marijuana patient.

The decision was the first to resolve a legal conflict between a 1975 Supreme Court of Alaska decision, Ravin v. State, 537 P.2d 494, and a voter initiative passed in 1990.
The Ravin case determined that while there was no fundamental right to possess or use marijuana, an amendment to the Alaska constitution protecting the right of privacy was broad enough to protect possession of marijuana in the home by adults, provided the possession was purely personal and non-commercial in nature. The 1975 decision affirmed the state’s interest in prohibiting marijuana to protect public welfare, but found that while that interest properly justified laws against driving under the influence of marijuana or laws prohibiting possession of marijuana by minors, it did not justify barring an adult’s personal possession of marijuana inside a home.

Shortly after the Ravin decision, the Alaska legislature amended the state’s marijuana laws and set an upper limit of less than four ounces for personal possession. This earned Alaska the popular, if incorrect, reputation for having legalized marijuana.
In 1990, with the support of then federal drug-czar William Bennett, Alaska voters responded by introducing an initiative to criminalize possession of any amount of marijuana in any location. The initiative, which was carefully designed to invalidate the Ravin decision, passed with 55% of the vote. Prior to Friday’s ruling, then the question of whether the voter initiative could legally trump the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Alaska constitution remained unresolved.

On Friday, August 29, the Court of Appeals ruled that when a statute like the voter initiative conflicts with a constitutional provision, the statute must give way. “[A] statute which purports to attach criminal penalties to constitutionally protected conduct is void,” the court stated. To reconcile the initiative with the state constitution, the appellate court restricted its enforcement to personal possession of four ounces or more of marijuana. [/
Alaska Attorney General, Gregg Renkes, has criticized the decision as going too far, and intends to appeal it to the Alaska Supreme Court.

 

[Doomsday101]

IMHO, I think all drugs should be decrimialized--gambling and prostitution too. But, I'm one of the opinion that one should have dominion over thier own body.

and they pay for their own help when they lose control? Sure have dominion over your own body that is great but suffer the consequences of your own action do not expect others to pay for it and if your actions end up taking a life like drunk drivers do then you should suffer big time for your actions.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

We can collect taxes on many things I actually have no problem legal or not, my problem is with the idiots who get high or get drunk and end up burdens on the rest of us and those who say we must help them. Why it was their fricken choice so I have to pay for some dumb ars choice?

We could be talking weed, alcohol or gambling. My issues are not so much them being legal is it is the morons who can't control it and the burden and cost falls to others. Add yet another substance to the list of so called harmless activities gets pretty expensive for those who are not involved.

problem with that argument is that it could be used for everything such as it not being fair that one gets a deduction for church givings as others who are not religious end up paying more tax, etc

at the end of the day, legalizing might not be the answer but throwing you in the clink for having some probably isn't either