Pot’s continued political non-sense (I thought we were past this point by now)

[Toker1]

Title says it all. I can no longer just sit around and listen to these lame politicians blaming the black market for their lack of tax contributions from pot sales. Here is an idea ...Lift all local pot selling/purchasing bands, lighten the tax burden on growers and distributors (so the sales price doesn’t match the high end cost of product when prohibition was most influential on price tag), and most of all end discrimination at the work place by lifting drug testing for MJ (At least Nevada understands this now)!
Lets be real, drug testing is intended to catch weed smokers because if it’s half life time in the body’s blood system... so politicians have successfully removed the working class from the legal market directly. Nice work, morons.
Don't send me any more of your skewed data that shows the black market thriving and anticipated taxes falling short. Show me bans being lifted and working class people that smoke weed being protected from weed discrimination in the work place. Then, after that, let’s have the discussion about weed tax income.
End these smoke and mirrors tactics that sound as ridiculous as reefer madness. Probably preaching to the choir on here.
I am sure many on here feel the same way I do.
How else have politicians skewed their data to push a political agenda against MJ? Let’s discuss.

[Mr.furley]

No government agencies should be able to collect tax from pot sale while people are still in prison for trying to feed there family by selling pot.

Bullshit taxation without representation.

[Gingerbeard]

Sure. But represented by whom?

[Toker1]

Cal Normal seems to be the most politically active group in this sense. As of right now, I would defer to them in my state for representation. Every state has its own chapter.

https://www.canorml.org/

[WeirdWiredWolf]

Towns that have a ban on dispensaries should not be allowed to partake of the tax revenue from such in the rest of the state.

[Gingerbeard]

Gotta show the law makers how they can make money on weed. Else 'n why are tobacco and alcohol legal? Fat cats do not go on diets.

[alltatup]

Toker1 wrote: "End these smoke and mirrors tactics that sound as ridiculous as reefer madness." Who do they think they are kidding, really? How could anyone really sustain an argument against cannabis in comparison to alcohol??? People in denial are irrational.

[Spidermite]

Dont get me started on the fact that alcohol is deadly and legal. Opioids are deadly and legal. Cigarettes are deadly and legal. Tylenol is one of the most dangerous drugs out there for long term use especially when added to alcohol you can kill your liver with one overdose of tylenol.

I'm not even getting into taxes. Or the fact that even legal states have fees out the ass to grow, transport, process, and transport hemp/cannabis, yet they dont on any other legal crop that I'm aware of. Some states require every employee on a hemp/cannabis farm or processing facility to have permits. Look at your state and see how much these fees are. They are not cheap.

Then you have the cost of incarcerating all of the people in jail on simple possession of cannabis whether it's a felony or misdemeanor. So far even the legal states are not correcting this.

Another is you can drink alcohol and own guns. Yet you are committing a felony by having cannabis and a gun in the house? The legal states are making people who use cannabis forfeit their right to own guns? Drunks with guns scare me. People who smoked some weed dont scare me when they have guns. You never hear that cannabis was involved in shootings it's always alcohol that was involved.

Oh well I could go on for days.

[Rwise]

By my state I can have my guns and weed too,,, like I would ever give up any of my dire arms!
When you pry my cold dead fingers from them!

[alltatup]

That is how I feel bout my cannabis plants

[Gingerbeard]

But... if weed becomes totally legal, I'm going to have to find some other laws to break. An' th' judge says th'r aint many more for me to break! Gawd love him.

[alltatup]

Toker1 You got that right; that's some bullshit bureaucracy going on there. Living close to a school: that is just some plain bullshit.

I'm stayin outlaw. My dumbass southern state will be among the last to legalize, but no licenses for me, thank you very much.

[Rwise]

Well in years past I would have hundreds of plants in the woods somedamnplace, legal means I can have 6+6 (Veg+flower), out of public site,, I wish my Co commissioner would answer my request, my road has had no repairs for 20 years, all I ask is "is it a public or private road". I may need a privacy fence,,,,
Before it was just illegal,,,

[WeirdWiredWolf]

In my town, we're virtually surrounded by schools (4 within a reasonable walking distance of our building, the town has something like 8 elementary schools and the voting board wants a ninth?!), plus there's a daycare at the end of the street. I'm seriously hoping my state doesn't adopt that school rule...

[Toker1]

Here is another favorite skewed data pointer, with a politically motivated agenda, that has been spreading around. Who here has heard about rises in car accidents in legal states? The data says Colorado, Washington. Oregon, and Nevada saw increases in car accidents after legalization. Ever hear about these reports?
But these reports fail to mention that those rises were quickly accompanied with sharp declines.
Another failure to mention was that these states saw in increase in population in general. More people = more cars = more car crashes.
People were migrating to these states for marijuana freedom! The real Underground Railroad of our time!
and why was the most populous legal state (CA) never mentioned in any of these reports? Didn’t follow their agenda? I would like to see a regression study comparing this data for relevance. My guess (with 95% confidence) is that the data perceived to be related, in reality, is not.

[Gingerbeard]

Don't try to scare me with your tool!

[Mr.furley]

Gingerbeard hahaha, that's about all my tool is good for lately.

[Rwise]

I font go looking for these studies, the last one I read said stoned folks drive slower, like 5 under the speed limit,,,
Not me I drive the same 5 or 10 over like always,,,

[Gingerbeard]

Should people be allowed to smoke in public? As much as people can smoke cigarettes and drink in public, if you want to keep everything even.
Tax it? As much as alcohol and tobacco are taxed, if you want to keep everything even.
Age limit? I'm going with 21. Tobacco, too. If it could be a maturity based decision, lets go with that.
Can we grow it? Sure. People can grow their own tobacco and make their own alcohol. See how I'm trying to keep everything even?
Should dispensaries or liquor stores be kept a certain distance of schools? Yes. Take a walk with me and Dabber some day. We'll walk by the schools, public and home preschool places with the kids in the yard. We'll also walk by the liquor store. Where you might get a little lucky and see one of the recyclers get loaded into an ambulance. The walk will take us on public bike and walking paths. The same paths kids walk to and from school. You'll notice, on your own, the number of mostly harmless recyclers (homeless alcoholics) who hang out on the paths. Also the smell of bum piss. Also the people who are smoking weed and tossing their McDonalds bag and smoking detritus on the path or in the parks. Delivery is everywhere but the closest dispensary is ten miles away. I know a dispensary is going to open in the city at some point and I will be the first in line when it opens. But if a dispensary opens near the same parks, paths, and schools, all will basically remain the same but the trash will get out of hand and kids who use the paths are going to have to contend with another type of negative influence. Would I rather a community of stoners or drunks? The former, please. But that doesn't mean I want to deal with more of the same people and garbage I already do.
Why is weed reformation happening? Civil disobedience.
As history is written by the victors, statistics are figured by those who will benefit the most. Who remembers saccharine? Who remembers the warning that saccharine causes cancer in rats? Yep. Rats. Not people. Thanks to the sugar industry for that. Grandma had a set of aluminum cookware from the '50's. There was some sort of warning that aluminum causes Alzheimer's. That was put out by someone like the steel cookware people, and Grandma died at 89 from lung cancer. Bell was clear as a brain. Ever read 'The Jungle' - U. Sinclair?
I need a bowl

[WeirdWiredWolf]

I think my state has a no public smoking statute, but the cops pretty much gave up trying to enforce it and it turned into "just don't let us see it or do anything truly stupid".

[alltatup]

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I see this or that article about the dangers of cannabis, the increase in ER visits, the damage it does to adolescent brains, etc., and I feel pretty sure that these articles are being planted by, I dunno, Richard Nixon or suchlike, to make folks paranoid. It's so often a manipulation of the stats, like Toker1 points out with the auto accidents above. I've read a lot of medical articles--mostly pro-Cannabis--but if you look up "Health dangers of Cannabis," you will read a lot of crazy stuff, like this:

"Because of the lower blood pressure and higher heart rate, researchers found that users' risk for a heart attack is four times higher within the first hour after smoking marijuana, compared to their general risk of heart attack when not smoking. This is from a post on VeryWellMind https://www.verywellmind.com/the-hea...arijuana-67788 VeryWellMind = Be Brainwashed and Obey.

But like Spidermite was pointing out above, it's as if they want to make you so paranoid about cannabis that you reach for your gun, a good stiff drink and a cigarette to calm your nerves.

[Rwise]

As I see it, here are the biggest draw backs of my states new law.
Still illegal Federally
Can only have 6+6 plants
Can only have 8 oz smokable stock (what the hell do I do if/when I get a real harvest from just one plant?)
The high cost of permits!

Being new laws they are still in flux, so I watch closely for changes.

At a local supply shop, I told them I did not need a bag (just 1 small item), I was told they must bag it in a black bag so the contents cannot be seen! This is not weed, but any grow supplies! WTF?? Now I can stand outside the shop, away from the door and light up! (anywhere a cig can be smoked)

The illegal market is still thriving as well!

[alltatup]

Didnt they tell you to flush down the toilet anything extra?

[Farmall]

Back in the 1970’s Spencer gifts would sell head supplies or sex toys and they placed your purchase in a black plastic bag.... why not just shout..”. Hey, that person just bought some weird stuff”. ‘Look, it’s in a black plastic bag!”

[Gingerbeard]

Used to be there was one of two things in black plastic bags: alcohol and porn. The good ol' days.

[Motoman15]

I live in Illinois where recreational weed becomes legal January 1st. In all the legislators wisdom they decided that only people with a medical card can grow legally. They didn't want the black market from all the people that will grow weed at home in their basement to interfere with their tax revenue. I've heard they plan to amend the no grow part eventually put it just seems to me it would cause a legal nightmare. On the plus side the Illinois Bill allows for the expungement of anyone that was caught with less than 30 grams. Hopefully they get it right and everyone gets their cut of the reefer pie.

[Toker1]

What about those who have already paid for expungements for under 30 grams? Reparations?

[Scarletwhitewidow]

As weed users don't some of you think eye of the behold er come to mind. If all states pass law and unrestricted of medical licence, It would spoil others rights the air pollution and increase crime by thiefs..

[Toker1]

Thanks for commenting, but not following here. Maybe I need to sober up and read more carefully. Lol

[Spidermite]

I do not see how it would increase thefts. That is an unlikely scenario. And as far as air pollution one would have to smoke thousands of joints each day to equal the smoke put in the air from your daily drive to work or having a single fire in your fireplace.

As far as where you could smoke it the laws are already in place. Where a person can smoke is already heavily regulated by the government. The no smoking laws regarding cigarettes would already apply to smoking a joint. So no new laws would need to be made regarding this.

[Rwise]

Back when I sold weed, the LEOs from 2 counties told me I reduced the crime rate by 85%, by keeping the thieves stoned!

[Farmall]

Frankly, I see no reason why the laws depend on each other....legalization should say...ok, it’s legal, do this with that.... expungement, SEPARATE ISSUE. They keep trying to tie the two together and nothing is moving forward. After they legalize it for the millions of people countrywide who would use or not use it, they can then sit down and make up a new law for anyone who got screwed with antiquated laws. Are we supposed to wait years for these guys to try and figure this out.... i’m not sure I can wait that long! Just do it ☑️

[Spidermite]

Yes it should be legalized first. Then they can worry about dealing with previous convictions. I brought it up because if I remember correctly it averages over $50k a year to incarcerate 1 person. How much is it costing tax payers every year to keep people with simple possession charges of MJ in jail?