Legalize It

More Mexican Bloodshed

2012-05-14T12:53:00.002-07:00

It is now more dangerous to live in Mexico than it is in Afghanistan, and with this most recent news of mutilated bodies being uncovered this fact comes as no surprise. The number of these atrocities and the brutal manner in which they are carried out should serve as a gruesome warning that America is not properly addressing the drug war in the correct manner.How many Mexicans need to die before we decide to end this losing war on drugs? I'm afraid that this number is astronomical. I'm also afraid that it will take the discovery of decapitated American bodies to entice our government to start to pursue these cartels in an aggressive manner. Below I have included a link to a story about another 49 beheaded and dismembered bodies being uncovered in Mexico due to drug cartel violence. It doesn't take a war to help quell the violence in Mexico, but rather a stroke of the pen to pass legislation that will take marijuana off of the black market.

America Powered by Hemp!

2012-05-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

I haven’t made many posts addressing the legal cultivation of industrial hemp, but looking at my blog you can probably guess why. I’ve put it on the back burner only occasionally bringing up the subject when it tied into marijuana, and now I’d like to bring the subject back into the spotlight. Industrial hemp is an incredible opportunity for this country; however it has been unfairly stigmatized with mostly anecdotal evidence. Yes, the plant is part of the cannabis family but really that’s the only problem the prohibitionists address when speaking of it. The conversation usually starts with this argument then somehow mutates into a marijuana and illicit drug discussion. It usually starts like this “Hemp should not be cultivated in America because it is part of the cannabis family like marijuana and, as we all know, marijuana is a gateway drug and leads to harder drugs like heroin.” So the conversation started with hemp and ended with heroin. Why is this? There isn’t a lot of drug abuse statistics concerning hemp for one. Even with marijuana there are all sorts of theories and statistics that prohibitionists love to quote and exploit, however hemp isn’t associated with drug use. Think about it, when was the last time you heard of a massive hemp bust anywhere in the country? Or the last time you or anyone you knew scored hemp off of a drug dealer. No one smokes hemp! The reason is that you can’t get high off it. Drug users know this and drug dealers know this. You are more likely to die of smoke inhalation before feeling any effects from hemp. There is no one in any rehab facility for hemp addiction. Likewise no one has died because of a hemp overdose. People don’t smoke it, dealers don’t sell it, no one kills for it yet the government will arrest you for it. The cannabis family gets a bad rap but if it wasn’t for this family of plants we wouldn’t have any beer to drink. That’s right, the hops that are thrown into the brews that we drink are also part of the cannabis family, and what’s more is that we are actually consuming it legally with every sip. Yet we can’t grow hemp to make paper or rope because of a belief that the American population will be strung out on it. As absurd as this sounds I haven’t heard of another argument why we shouldn’t grow this crop. One negative stigma is all that keeps this plant from being grown on American soil. America uses hemp in everyday items and the government buys it from other countries like Canada and China. God forbid we start growing it for ourselves! The stigma surrounding hemp is so stifling that it keeps us away from economic growth. A more prosperous America is achievable but because of our fear and misunderstanding of marijuana we keep our potential wealth locked away. What sense does this make? Did we become a world super power out of fear and anecdotal theories? It’s hurtful to see this country keep itself from greatness and it is shameful when hearing the ridiculous logic as to why. Will we let our fears overpower our logic and knowledge? We don’t have to.

ASU Marijuana Debate

2012-05-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

I found a great professional debate on marijuana legalization and by professional I mean a debate you won't find on FOX or MSNBC where the person who yells the loudest wins. Each person is given a time to present their opinions without interruption and in a civil manner.I must warn you it is a rather long video but it is definitely worth watching. As always feel free to leave comments. Enjoy!

Obama and Marijuana

2012-05-13T16:39:00.001-07:00

I don't like to throw greater political discussions into my blog posts such as who I'm voting for in the election or why I think Obama is a good or bad President. I feel this takes focus away from the issues at hand. In this short post I will not give my opinion on the Obama administration, however I will leave some links to articles that speak of his policy on medical marijuana. None of these are glowing praises of the President but the facts within them are true. The Obama administration has cracked down on medical marijuana dispensaries more than any other administration in history. All I wish to do is share the facts of what is occurring in America and within my home state of California. Knowledge is power people!!! The more we know the less likely we are to be taken advantage of.

High: The True Tale of American Marijuana

2012-04-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

I figured for this post I would let someone else do the talking just to make all of you aware how many people believe that legalizing marijuana would benefit the country. In the video below this post is a documentary titled “High: The True Tale of American Marijuana”. This is a great documentary that addresses a lot of the myths surrounding the plant and discusses what positive impacts it could possibly have on America. It’s documentaries like these and other sources of information that made me change my views on marijuana. That’s right I didn’t always believe in legalizing this plant (shocking I know). I constantly believed that we were winning the war on drugs and that legalizing marijuana would lead to more crime. But if you looked at all the people, sources, and money that was spent to push these ideas on me, then how could I believe any different. Now that more and more people are questioning marijuana prohibition it’s easier to have access to other ideas, and this is what allows the individual to make an educated decision about the issue. This is what this debate is really all about. Giving people all of the information necessary to make their own decision based on facts, not myths or scare tactics that have been so prevalent surrounding this issue. This is my ultimate goal with this blog. To educate! To give people the information necessary to make their own decisions and then hopefully they will share my point of view. I hope you all enjoy the documentary as much as I did and please don’t limit yourself and view this movie with an open mind.

Hempsters

2012-04-04T13:56:00.001-07:00

This is a documentary I recently came a crossed that makes a great case for industrial hemp. Celebrities and politicians come together in this movie to help educate the public on hemp production and the many benefits that it can provide for America. Please watch and enjoy and feel free to leave comments on your thoughts.

I Don’t Smoke Marijuana

2012-02-24T12:39:00.000-08:00

It’s true I don’t. When I first started writing my blog and telling my friends about it I got the same response from them every time “But you don’t smoke weed why do you want it legal?”. They say this like the only motivation I have for all of my writing and hard work is so that I’ll be able to smoke a joint on a Friday night without legal repercussions. But I see beyond that. I see that cannabis can actually have a positive impact on the country as a whole as it relates to crime, the economy, and personal freedom. Should I be angry at my friends for assuming that I have such a short sighted and self centered goal about this plant? The answer is unequivocally no! The response that I am given does not reflect on my friends’ inability to see the bigger picture, but rather it shows the effects of years of conditioning from society’s stereotypes. The specific stereotype that we must address is that of the traditional marijuana supporter. You all know the type, the twenty to thirty something loser that lives in his parents’ basement baked out of his skull lecturing to his friend who is passed out on the floor about how marijuana should be legal all while he is eating five pizzas at once and surfing through a porn site on his laptop. Yeah that guy! It doesn’t matter if you hold a good job, own a house, or earned a PHD you are automatically grouped into the same category as this individual. It’s not only insulting it is incredibly ignorant but worry not ignorance can be remedied with knowledge.

More people need to address this stereotype as a falsehood. It is a large part of the reason why debates about marijuana do not take place in the larger public eye. We are discredited as knuckle dragging Neanderthals before we have a chance to present our opinions. As poised and articulate as an activist may be these attributes do him no good if he is labeled as a degenerate before he has been given a chance to speak. How are we to rise above these commonly held misconceptions about us? The good news is that we are starting to. Polls now show that about fifty percent of Americans believe that marijuana should be a legal substance and America wouldn’t be the great country that it is if this was the number of losers that inhabited our nation. Furthermore organizations such as L.E.A.P. and NORML help our cause by presenting intelligent arguments to the general public. It cannot stop here however. More people need to take a stand and share their stories and experiences with marijuana. I truly believe that people are going to be surprised when they discover that individuals they admire use marijuana, support its legalization, or both.

The more we gravitate away from the common stereotypical myths about ourselves the more we will start to gain credibility among our peers, and the respect we earn from them will grow exponentially. Don’t be afraid to share your stories and opinions with the people around you for fear you’ll be labeled a fool. I can assure most of you reading this are far from one. The only way to eradicate ignorance is to share your knowledge. For knowledge is power and it is the key that unlocks the shackles of ignorance that bind us.

Marijuana Can’t Even be Kept Out of Our Prisons!

2012-02-22T12:57:00.000-08:00

If any of you have ever watched an episode of “Locked Up” on MSNBC then you have probably seen how prisoners are often able to obtain some sort of drug even though they are confined in top security prisons. For those of you who haven’t seen it “Locked Up” is a show that reveals the daily lives of prisoners in the country’s most infamous prisons. In a lot of these episodes prisoners are interviewed about their experience with drugs in prison. Whether it’s homemade alcohol, marijuana, or heroin these inmates in every prison are able to acquire some sort of illegal intoxicant. How can anyone claim that we are making any significant progress in the drug war when our most secure correctional institutions, which are locked down 24/7 by law enforcement professionals, can’t even keep drugs out of the facility? If an environment such as this is porous enough to allow drugs and money to flow in and out regularly, then how do we expect to keep it out of the country entirely? This should be a major indicator that our current strategy is fleeting.

No amount of law enforcement personnel and resources will ever be enough to stop the illegal drug trade. All the money that we pour into the drug war each year isn’t even enough to slow it down any significant amount. The proof of this is seen in the ever escalating violence south of the border. Many prohibition supporters argue that if we built a fence covering the entire length of the boarder and line the fence with National Guard and border patrol agents that this would be enough to stop the drug trade along with illegal immigration. First of all this idea is unrealistic, but for the sake of the argument let’s assume that this could be possible. This would slow down the amount of traffic that attempts to cross holes along the physical border such as people climbing over fences and cutting holes in the chain link; however, this would not stop the tunnels that are built under the fence nor would it stop drug traffic that travels by water. The cartels possess simple yet sophisticated semi submersible water vessels and submarines, and with so much man power focused on the border we would be left vulnerable to sea trafficking. This wouldn’t hinder the drug traffic that travels through the air in small aircraft either. Building a fence and lining it with troops does close a door but it also inadvertently opens many others for exploitation.

We don’t have to build a large fence spanning the border or throw more money into the war on drugs every year to realize that more law enforcement is not a viable solution to illegal drug trafficking. We can see the ineffectiveness of this approach when we look at our prisons. These institutions which are locked down by guards, bars, locks, fences, security cameras, and razor wire do a good job of keeping inmates inside its walls but still cannot keep drugs from entering inside them. The best solution is not more guns and guards but more rights!

What Convinced Me to End Marijuana Prohibition?

2012-02-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

There is a more complex answer that addresses this question but I’ll delve into that deeper in another post, but I would like to reveal an important turning point in my journey to end prohibition. The video that I have included in this post was a major junction in my ideological development. The video takes a look at an organization known as L.E.A.P. (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition). This organization is made of active and retired law enforcement members who have fought on the front lines of the war on drugs only to discover that it is a loosing battle. Now they travel to schools and hold seminars that promote ending prohibition based on their personal experiences. I highly recommend listening to what these people have to say since they understand the drug war from a viewpoint many of us do not possess. What I hope this video highlights for you is that people who support ending prohibition come from many different backgrounds and differ greatly from the common stereotypical perception of an anti-prohibitionist (the common degenerate pothead). I felt that it was the right time to showcase this video since my last post addressed the topic of our law enforcement in relation to the drug war. Now you get to experience this same topic through the eyes of these very same individuals. Like I mentioned before this was a video that really resonated with me and contributed a great deal toward my activist ambitions. Enjoy the video and feel free to leave comments on it.

Will Marijuana Legalization Belittle Our Law Enforcement?

2012-02-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

This issue has to be addressed since it is often an argument politicians use to gain sympathy for our law enforcement agencies by means of victimization. Subsequently many people have accepted this argument as a legitimate reason to keep marijuana prohibition alive. It’s not unheard of for a person to argue that “legalizing marijuana will undo everything our federal and local police entities have sacrificed and worked so hard to achieve. How can you possibly want to make it legal?” This argument can be hard to combat since the individual making the comment has been convinced that ending marijuana prohibition is not a political idea, but another deviant strategy that criminals are utilizing to target our law enforcement members. How does an individual come to believe this fallacious argument? It comes with decades of conditioning. The government has demonized marijuana to the point that anyone who has a favorable opinion of it is labeled a criminal. If you buy weed you are breaking the law therefore you are a criminal! Since you bought it you are now in possession of a controlled substance which is illegal therefore you are a criminal! If you sell some to your friend you are a drug dealer therefore you are a criminal! If you smoke it you are breaking the law therefore you are a criminal! If you support it becoming legal you are either selling it, buying it, possessing it, smoking it, or all of the above therefore you are a criminal! As funny as this may seem it is true that many people have acquired this thought process. How can we change this perception and how can we make people realize that ending marijuana prohibition is not intended to harm our law enforcement officials?

It all starts with debunking commonly held myths, something that I always try to accomplish through this blog. In this case prohibition supporters are victimizing law enforcement officials instead of the usual targets like the helpless addict or the child killed in the middle of a drug deal gone wrong. This victimization causes guilt and an otherwise intelligent individual is overcome by emotion instead of utilizing reason. “How could I possibly support legalization? Our poor police officer puts his life on the line to keep these drugs off the streets. I’m such a fool!” Thus the argument becomes “marijuana needs to be kept illegal because it’s illegal!” But wait, are these people really saying that? Yes they most defiantly are! Yet the individual does not notice that he or she is making this erroneous argument because it is cleverly disguised as a sympathetic appeal towards the poor cop walking his beat.

Does marijuana legalization really belittle our law enforcement officials? The answer is a resounding NO! If it does anything it helps them by removing them from a failed drug policy that has lasted decades. If marijuana was legalized 10 years ago we would have fewer dead cops and failed operations like “Fast and Furious” would never have taken place. Violence in Mexico would have declined and our prisons would not be overflowing with petty drug offenders. To say that legalizing cannabis hurts our officers more than to continuingly throw them into dangerous drug busting operations is insensitive and offensive. Our law enforcement has done the best they can but the drug war failure does not fall on their shoulders, it falls on the shoulders of our lawmakers. And to create the illusion that our law enforcement agencies haven’t “quite done enough” is sickening.

The 420 Counterculture

2012-01-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

Marijuana is unique among controlled substances in that it has an unprecedented counter culture that surrounds it. Just Google marijuana and I will guarantee that that you will find an overwhelming amount of forums, activist pages, magazine websites, medical marijuana dispensaries, conventions, arguments for and against prohibition, paraphernalia stores, and of course blogs dedicated to the subject ;). There is such a large following that if you didn’t know marijuana was illegal you would have a hard time believing it is. What is so unique about cannabis that gives it so much appeal even though it is illegal to possess, sell, and consume it? Why are we not seeing this phenomenon with other controlled substances? Since there is such a large following then why hasn’t anyone seen the potential of legalization? There are many answers to these questions but I plan to highlight the big picture surrounding the subject of the 420 counterculture.

Why is marijuana so appealing to so many people in the country? I guess a superficial answer would be that “it gets you high”, an answer I usually receive from people in favor of prohibition, but I’m not willing to accept that as the main reason. A lot of things get you high, cocaine, heroin, LSD, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms, meth, peyote, nitrous oxide, Oxycotton, Demerol, and a plethora of other prescription drugs. But none of these have the same dedicated following that matches marijuana. The simplest way I can describe why cannabis is so popular is by combining two broad reasons, it’s safer than other recreational drugs (including alcohol) and it’s enjoyable to use. These are the very basic reasons why marijuana has such a large following. Sure there are other reasons that are involved but most of them stem from these two categories. The fact that it is enjoyable seems to be an obvious reason for its use, but there are other drugs like heroin, meth, and crack cocaine that at first may be used for enjoyment but quickly transition into being used to maintain an addiction. Very rarely is anyone a slave to marijuana addiction and this allows people to continue using without many negative effects. This brings us to the next reason for its popularity which is its relatively safe use. No one overdoses on marijuana like many other drugs which is why marijuana maintains its popularity in numbers and which is also why we don’t see this phenomenon with other “harder” drugs. No one is killing themselves with it. This safe appearance of cannabis within the 420 counterculture maintains its popularity. Because it is so enjoyable and because it is safer to use marijuana has gained an epic fan base in this country and is also the reason why harder drugs do not follow this same trend.

With marijuana as popular as it is why hasn’t anyone seen the potential of legalization? The answer to this question is much simpler. People have seen the potential for legalization and more often than not it is the marijuana user and activist that sees it. The user does not want to have to sneak around trying to find weed somewhere, they would much rather want to walk into a store and purchase it without having to look over their shoulder. People who want to end prohibition are not criminals but everyday people that want to see crime decrease and more jobs created from marijuana legalization. The main hurdle to leap over in order to end prohibition is to overcome the negative stigma that marijuana has acquired over the years. We can see that we are achieving this goal with recent polls showing that half of Americans would like to see marijuana legalized. After all overcoming this stigma and ending prohibition is what the 420 movement is truly all about.

America is Being Denied the Right to Information

2012-01-30T14:11:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I wrote my most popular blog to date entitled “Don’t Tell Me What I Can Do To My Body!” which argued that the Government has no right dictating what substance I willfully choose to consume. Now I wish to discuss another topic which is just as important and directly parallels this argument, which is the right to information. Not only are we being denied the right to govern our own bodies as we wish but we are also being denied our most sacred right of information and education. It is an absolute travesty that our Government is withholding the facts about marijuana by not allowing scientific research to examine both the positive and negative aspects of this plant. Instead we are force fed half truths and outright myths about cannabis in substitute.

Education is the foundation of our ideals and personal opinions and this applies not just in America but the world. Every country that employs public education at the national level is always a more developed country. Every country that denies education to its people or feeds them misinformation will always be a third world country and or a country that is ruled over by dictators whether they be national or local (such as warlords). Education is the very element that makes us free! The ability to analyze and apply critical thinking to make judgments and form opinions is the most powerful weapon we posses against tyranny, injustice, and exploitation. To deny people of education is to steal life itself from them. It is one of the worst human rights offenses and yet we as Americans are experiencing this very offense, albeit on a small scale. This seems blasphemous to say but as we take a closer look and you will find that the Government has limited the research of cannabis thereby denying us our right to the proper information.

There was an attempt to study marijuana and its effects on personal and social issues that was initiated by the government. This study was known as the “Shafer Commission” in which president Nixon launched in order to support the war on drugs. However this plan back fired and instead of a scathing report on marijuana Nixon received a report which dispelled many of the widely accepted myths about the plant. This report was not surprisingly rejected and the “Controlled Substance Act” (which this commission was intended to support) was passed through Congress and signed into law. This is the first major case of information (concerning marijuana) which was denied to the public because the outcome was the opposite of what the Government wanted. We were denied the right to information and as such we continued to believe all of the common myths associated with marijuana. We are still feeling the effects of this outcome from the slew of misinformation we receive about this plant. Every day we are bombarded by public service announcements and political scare tactics that pounds outdated and incorrect information into our heads. This bombardment is amplified by the fact that the Government does not fund additional studies about marijuana so that we might learn more about it. God forbid the information discovered would counter what has previously been believed as true. It is this denial of additional studies and information that stagnates us from discovering the truth about marijuana.

We cannot and should not allow the government to dictate our right to information and education. We have to demand more unbiased scientific studies involving marijuana so that we as a country can make a more informed decision in the case of prohibition. The more informed decision is the right decision.

Marijuana doesn't harm lung function

2012-01-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

I thought this was an interesting piece on the subject so I decided to put it up. As always the link is at the bottom of the post. Let me know what you think by commenting on this post.

Marijuana doesn't harm lung function, study found

The Fed Defies the Will of the People

2012-01-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have noticed that I have not posted anything in a while and I assure you most earnestly that I have not abandoned my activist ambitions. Quite the contrary I have been more evolved than any time before. Since mid October I have been trying to fight the Fed from closing many of the medical marijuana dispensaries throughout my home state of California. The Federal Government’s war on marijuana has spilled over from originally targeting criminals, such as cartels and gangs, to fixing its sights on state legitimate medical marijuana dispensaries that were voter approved by Californian citizens. Instead of pursuing the illegal drug trade, which was the allegedly sole purpose of the war on drugs, federal prosecutors have turned their attention to state authorized and taxpaying medical dispensaries. They are attempting to take away the legitimate marijuana market instead of focusing on the real violent threat to the south. The Government’s focus on dismantling California approved/Federal Government disapproved marijuana businesses, accomplishes nothing except that it hands over a super monopoly to illegal traffickers and defecates on the tenth amendment. It’s absolutely deplorable that our government can defy the will of the people with such ease and unopposed resistance.

Our voices have been ripped from our throats and our votes have been discarded as an inconvenient nuisance. What’s more is that the Government is getting away with all of it. There is very little talk about this event in the media. It is constantly over shadowed by other “more important” and “pressing” news such as the Occupy movement or the election. We can no longer allow Government to intrude upon matters that the people have established through the democratic system. It makes the system meaningless and dishonors the very foundation of the country. It gives me a very intense feeling of trepidation that the Government can rewrite the rules like a school yard bully who is unhappy with the outcome of a playground game. We cannot allow this to happen! This may be easy for the Government to accomplish since marijuana is still a taboo political subject but if the Government can so easily usurp the voice of citizens over marijuana then it makes you wonder what other issues the Government will intervene in. There must be a definitive line established that puts limits on government intervention and I suggest that the line should start with the marijuana issue.

I have put up a link to the story about what is occurring in California. It has more information on the issue and shows just how much the Government is cracking down on the medical marijuana dispensaries in California.

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/745016/feds_force_hundreds_of_california%27s_medical_marijuana_dispensaries_to_close/

Drug Crazy

2011-11-22T20:05:00.001-08:00

If you haven’t read this book yet I highly recommended you pick it up as soon as possible. The book is entitled “Drug Crazy How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out” by Mike Gray. This book discusses all the arguments for prohibition and dispels them. Many of the issues addressed in this book are the same issues I have discussed on my blog. This book can be very eye opening whether you are new to the anti prohibition movement or a seasoned veteran. Everyone who reads this book will benefit from it. Keep educating yourselves on the subject and don’t allow years of propaganda blind you from the facts.

I Told You So

2011-10-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Crime is on the increase and gangs are growing stronger. How are they making their money? The drug trade of course! I have said it a hundred times, crime will go down if we take away the revenue gangs acquire from drugs like marijuana. Here is a link to the story below.

http://news.yahoo.com/feds-gang-membership-crime-alliances-grow-180417395.html

Marijuana a True Green Job

2011-10-19T15:21:00.000-07:00

With the slump the economy is in the government has been fighting over how to put people back to work and erase our national debt. There has been talk about creating green jobs to help out, but with solar businesses going under after being given millions of dollars of government support, green jobs look like a waste. However there is one product that the government knows there is a market for. People have been buying it for decades and it is widely used in the United States. There is potential for growth and many small businesses and entrepreneurs will benefit from it. Of course you already know what I’m talking about especially if you have read my blog before. Marijuana can be the biggest “green” job that we can invest in for this country. Will this miraculously pull us out of this economic depression? No, not entirely, but think of one thing that would. We already passed a major stimulus plan which may have slowed the depression down but that didn’t even pull us out. It is going to take more than one plan to get us out of the mess we are in. So let’s use marijuana to help us out rather than drag us down.

President Obama was asked if marijuana legalization could help us out of the economic downturn that we find ourselves in. He laughed off the question stating that he didn’t think it would help. What a blow to the movement right? If the president who is trying to turn the economy around doesn’t believe marijuana could benefit America then how can we ever convince the public? Well this is also the president who poured half a billion dollars into a solar panel company that spent more to make their product then they were selling it for. Not saying that the president is doing a terrible job, but he is far from a business man. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt however, so I have to believe that the president hasn’t thought of all the possibilities that legal marijuana could bring. He, like most people, is only focusing on the revenue that the purchase and taxation of the plant would bring. Yes it’s true that both of these things can bring in a good amount of money. It is also true that, while it would help, these two things alone would not have a significant effect on the current economy right away. Marijuana goes deeper than just being bought and taxed. There are many more ways that this plant can help.

Creating jobs for Americans is something that the government has been working on for a while but has yet to deliver. Marijuana legalization would help create many different jobs ranging from growing it on farms to selling it at a licensed store. If we break down the process that marijuana would take from the farm to the consumer we can see all the jobs it would take to complete this process. First of all you would have to grow it (obviously). The best place to do this is on farmland like how we grow tobacco today. There are farmers today that are struggling just like the rest of Americans, and the prospect of growing a new crop could greatly help them get back on their feet. Farmers don’t normally run their farm on their own, so many hire workers to help them tend and harvest the crop throughout the year. Starting to see the jobs trickle in? After the crop is harvested it is sold to a buyer whose company processes the plant. There hasn’t ever been a company who has legitimately processed marijuana before, so this leaves room for new entrepreneurs to come into the business and bring the jobs that comes with it. This creates new companies who compete to sell their product. After each company has processed their product they can ship it off to licensed stores. These stores could range from drug stores to a small business. While marijuana sold at a drug store chain wouldn’t necessarily create new jobs, the fact that small businesses would begin to open and profit is a huge upside. We have similar examples with privately owned liquor stores and tobacco shops. Even in hard economic times these businesses continue to stay afloat. I would imagine that marijuana stores would be no different. Not only would marijuana businesses sprout up, but businesses that sold paraphernalia would also become popular. Some of these stores operate today but they a few and far between. If marijuana became legal they would be much more prevalent, and not only would they create more jobs, but they would profit off of a market that associates itself with marijuana. Now we not only have marijuana being bought and sold but also the smoking devices used with marijuana. After all of this we still aren’t done. We all know about the businesses that are popular in Amsterdam. The coffee shops there sell marijuana and allow people to smoke it in the shop. Is there any doubt that businessmen in this country open similar establishments? I would think not.

On top of all of the jobs, businesses, and revenue that would come about with the legalization of marijuana there is still even more that could help the country. Not only would we make money from marijuana legalization we would also save a lot of money. We would no longer need law enforcement to carry out marijuana busts in the country. We would be able to effectively cut back some of the money that we spend on the war on drugs. What’s more, we would no longer send marijuana offenders to jail. The government would be able to save all of the money that is spent to keep these people behind bars. Not only do we create jobs and generate revenue but we also save money in the long run. This is what people don’t understand about the potential revenue that marijuana can bring. They only look at the issue one dimensionally and they are having trouble seeing the bigger picture. We need to be able to convince the public that legalizing marijuana can be a big part in turning around the economy.

There are many ways marijuana can help the economy. I have listed many examples from revenue, companies, and jobs it would create to the money we would save on law enforcement. There are far more ways that marijuana can help the economy than just the surface. We need to start pushing all of the benefits that marijuana can have for America. The more we do, the more people will see that marijuana can become America’s new cash crop and first real “green” job.

50% of Americans Want Marijuana Legal

2011-10-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

A new poll came out very recently that shows that 50% of Americans want marijuana legal. This is the most ever recorded and shows that marijuana legalization is not only possible it is unavoidable. The full story can be found at the link below.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/10/is-the-drug-war-almost-over-half-of-americans-support-legal-marijuana/246872/

Has Marijuana Ever Been an Epidemic?

2011-10-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

Drug epidemics have contributed greatly to marijuana prohibition. Illegal drugs are usually all grouped together in one category, and when one drug in particular generates negative public opinion, other illegal drugs suffer the same negative stigma. Take the crack epidemic of the 1980s for example, because of this national epidemic public outcry to pursue all illegal drugs rose significantly. This gave way to anti drug movements like the “Just Say No” campaign. If we separate marijuana from other illicit drugs and show that it is not nearly as harmful, we will be able to ease a lot of the negative stigma marijuana acquirers. After all I have never seen or heard of a marijuana epidemic. Have you?

There has never been a marijuana epidemic in this country or anywhere in the world for that matter. Think about it. When was the last time you saw people shaking and twitching in alley ways from marijuana withdrawal? When was the last time you saw dead bodies removed from the streets because the user overdosed on marijuana? And who can tell me about anybody who squandered their whole lives away on marijuana, living only to support their habit? You really have to do some serious digging around to find examples like these if you can find any at all. There has to be a separation between the drugs that cause extreme physical harm and marijuana. All too often illegal drugs are grouped together as deadly life shattering substances when in actuality there are many differences between them all. Some can be extremely dangerous while others carry the negative stigmas associated with all illicit drugs. The fear of drugs like crack and heroin has caused the general public to become paranoid over marijuana. The public needs to be made aware of what marijuana actually is and how it differs from hard drug use. We need to always point out that marijuana has been unfairly targeted in the greater war against drugs.

It’s time to start thinking logically about what marijuana actually is. For much too long we have let our fear and emotions get in the way of the right decision. We need to look harder at the statistics and start making educated decisions in the marijuana argument. Only until we conquer are fears will we be free from the slave like chains they confine us in.

Mexican Cartels Target Children

2011-10-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

Whoever argued that children would be put in more danger if marijuana was legal neglected to notice this. It has now been discovered that drug cartels are recruiting kids to help smuggle and move drugs. This is nothing really new but it’s gaining more national attention now than ever. I have been saying this all along; legitimate businesses will not sell your kids marijuana or involve them with the plant in any way. Gangs are always going to target your kids, so let’s put them out of business by making marijuana legal. The whole story can be found at the link below.

http://news.yahoo.com/mexican-drug-cartels-recruiting-texas-children-173402030.html

A Conversation with a Friend

2011-10-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

This is a conversation I had with one of my friends via Facebook. I wanted to put this up because it shows a different point of view and I believe it is important to know what the other side of the conversation has to say. This is in response to my post Are You Telling Me The Government Can’t Tax Something? The link to this post can be found here:http://legalizeit-ryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/are-you-telling-me-government-cant-tax.html

I would like to point out that our discussion was civil and that neither of us got out of control. I pride myself on having intelligent conversations. Here is the discussion we had. Enjoy!

Friend: How would you tax it when anyone can grow it? There is no way to track the plant, so I see it being pointless. If the government can't track it how can they tax it?

Me: Good question. Granted anyone can grow a plant, but the goal would be to mass produce it and regulate it like any other U.S. crop. This way it can be processed and sold much like tobacco is today for example. I doubt that every user would try to grow it in their houses when it would be easier to buy it from a store that is licensed to sell it. Thank you for the comment I really appreciate any sort of feedback you have.

Friend: Yes I see your point but with all the pot smokers in the U.S. I think the smokers would just have one plant that they would use. You could grow the thing in your house. Corn and other plants are much larger and is grown for food. I just don't see how the government will get any money from it. All you need is to have your buddy give you a seed and then you grow it. How would the government know about that transaction? Or your buddy has a couple plants and he is selling some weed and you say hey could I get some weed from you and he charges you a couple hundred bucks for the pot. How is the government going to know you bought the stuff? Do you get my drift? I personally pot smokers are using the "taxation" as a means to legalize it and the government won’t be able to collect.

Me: I get ya. But someone would have to grow a lot of plants to produce enough for recreational use, and I don't think a lot of pot smokers would put the effort into to growing their own supply.

Friend: You would be surprised what people do for pot. I have seen false walls for a pot room in an apartment, garages, attics, and a bedroom. I have heard of people putting a sea container underground to grow pot in. Imagine it being legal.

Me: Yes this happens, but most pot smokers get there product from it being smuggled a crossed the border. Not all of them grow it themselves. And I don't see individual growing ever meeting the national demand.

The more we have discussions about marijuana the more people we will be able to reach out to. We need to keep the conversation alive in order to continue the movement. I urge all of you to go out and start talking about marijuana more so that we can affect more people.

This Weed Will Kill You!

2011-10-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

This is a video that I have spent a while looking for and I finally got it on the blog. This is a Fox News story that I got to watch first hand and I was really surprised when I saw it. In the video they quote a D.E.A. agent of saying that the marijuana they found will kill you because it was grown indoors under 24 hours of light. This agent I’m sure doesn’t have a degree in chemistry or botany, so I don’t consider him a reliable source. I would trust his opinion concerning how much the street value of the marijuana is, how much they confiscated, and how the people caught ran their operation. I would never trust him to tell me the chemical makeup of a plant. Let’s face it, the argument that this marijuana is powerful enough to kill you because it has been grown under 24 hour light, is like saying that spinach grown under the same conditions will make you grow seven feet tall. Let’s expose these scare tactics before they can gain momentum.

Marijuana is a Gateway Drug

2011-10-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

If there was one accusation that has demonized marijuana more than anything else it has to be the “Gateway Drug” argument. This has been a popular argument and one of the most successful in keeping marijuana illegal. One of the reasons contributed to its success is that it utilizes fear to scare voters into keeping it illegal. However, this fear can be alleviated with simple reasoning that disproves marijuana is a gate way drug.

There is some ambiguity about the gateway drug theory and this causes it to be described in a couple of ways. This same ambiguity can also lead to its downfall in a civil debate. This argument has been described a number of ways in its existence but the way I remember being told had to be the most absurd. I was taught that marijuana is a gateway drug because people who smoke it for a long enough time stop getting high from it which leads them to move to more powerful drugs. Where do we start with this one? There is no drug in existence, legal or otherwise, that a human being can build such a tolerance to that they stop feeling all or most of the effects that it causes. There is no illicit drug, prescription drug, or legal drug like alcohol or nicotine that behaves this way. Caffeine doesn’t even do it, so why would marijuana be any different? This argument is so farfetched that it can be excused with simple reasoning.

The gateway theory is popular among prohibitionists because it uses statistics. However these people neglect the other variables that have to be taken into account. Many prohibitionists bring up the point that people who use harder drugs started with marijuana. Now I’ll admit that this statistic is somewhat true, but, you can make the very same argument about alcohol. Many people used alcohol roughly around the same time they started using marijuana. Very few actually started on just marijuana before they moved on to harder drugs. This is especially true with under aged people. People who drink under aged are far more likely to use illegal drugs in their lifetime. So we can make the argument that alcohol itself is a “gateway” drug using the same statistics and reasoning as the prohibitionists to support our claim. Why is alcohol ignored though? There are a few reasons but one of the main ones is how the statistical questions are presented. Many ask the question “what drug did you first start out with” or some other similar variant. On the surface this seems like a fair question, but it all depends on what the word “drug” means to the person being surveyed. Alcohol itself is a drug, but when asked about “drugs” it’s hardly the first one that comes to most people’s minds. When asked the question “what drug did you first use or start with” many people automatically think of illegal drugs which alcohol is not associated with. In this way the statistics can become incredibly skewed and therefore it becomes invalid in an argument. The problem with these statistical arguments is that the statistics themselves are flawed. Until there is a better statistical system in place we will never really know if marijuana (or alcohol for that matter) is a gateway drug.

I have my own “gateway” theory that I would like to introduce for the first time on this blog. I feel that this theory better addresses the true underlying cause of hard drug use. The gateway is not the drug itself, but it is the illegal activity that is associated with the drug. A person buying marijuana off of a drug dealer is exposed to the other hard drugs that the dealer also sells. It becomes a “gateway” to illegal activity. The dealer will eventually convince someone to buy harder and more profitable drugs. The buyer is already breaking the law by buying marijuana several times, and this repeated action can seem benign to him over time. Since the buyer is no longer afraid of purchasing marijuana then what would stop him from buying other drugs? He is introduced to an illegal drug culture which becomes a gateway into harder illicit drug use.

You may be asking yourself why a person would take part in an illegal activity in the first place. We can address this question by looking at another study that observes drinking at universities. Many universities have done studies to determine which students attending their schools drink the most. What these studies found was very intriguing. The majority of students that drank alcohol were in the freshmen and sophomore classes whose age range is 17-20. Junior and senior classes whose ages range from 21-23 were far less likely to drink. Why would under aged people drink more? The fact is that there is an appeal to something that is forbidden. People who drink underage usually feel the excitement of getting away with something that they are not supposed to take part in. Once they become of legal age to drink, the excitement of doing something forbidden is gone and drinking loses the appeal that it once had. Buying and using marijuana can bring about the same exciting “forbidden” feeling. This feeling introduces them into an illegal lifestyle that could lead to harder drug use. The forbidden feeling is constantly fed while taking part in this activity, and this causes people to push themselves into harder drug use in order to maintain the excitement the activity brings about. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in America, so if we were to make it a legal substance then we would take all of those marijuana users away from an introduction into an illegal lifestyle. By doing this we greatly reduce the chance that these marijuana users will take part in harder drug use.

Let’s face it; marijuana is a gateway drug because it is illegal. If it were legalized then people would not be introduced into an illegal culture that could lead to harder drug use, thereby protecting our citizens. By keeping this plant illegal we are allowing drug pushers to introduce our citizens to harder drugs like heroin. Let’s take the illegal lifestyle out of the equation by making marijuana a legal substance.

Is Marijuana Legalization Even Possible?

2011-10-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

I’ve heard this question asked a lot whenever the subject arises in conversation. Some think that this is an impossible cause, and that all of the people involved in trying to decriminalize marijuana are wasting their time. I couldn’t disagree more with this argument. This idea of legalizing marijuana has a very real possibility of success. Arguing that this is an impossible task keeps people from getting involved, and this stops the movement before it even has a chance to start. This movement has more than just a chance of succeeding; I truly believe that it will one day become a reality. I wouldn’t bother putting so much effort in to this blog if I didn’t believe my cause could never happen. There have been far more difficult changes in our country to overcome, and we can see that our cause can be obtained through hard work.

If we look to history we will find that alcohol prohibition was a much more difficult task to overcome. Alcohol prohibition was a constitutional amendment, and Americans were able to get this amendment overturned. The process that is required to make an amendment to the constitution is brutal. It takes a lot of time and dedication to accomplish this task and the amendment needs overwhelming support if ever intends on becoming a reality. We have to really examine how much alcohol was despised by the country in order for prohibition to go into effect in the first place. American’s backed the idea with such fervor that it actually made its way into the highest law of the land. Trying to get any amendment abolished today would really seem like an impossible task. The fact that an amendment concerning prohibition was overturned is huge motivation when addressing our cause. This also helps to get people to realize that ending marijuana prohibition can and will eventually occur.

Even more incredible than an amendment being overturned was that in order to overturn it there had to be another amendment passed to do so. There is no other way to do it! Legalizing marijuana would be much easier to accomplish than trying to make any sort of amendment to the constitution. I really have to wonder what people thought about alcohol prohibition. Did they believe that trying to get it overturned was impossible at first? I have to believe they did because I can hardly think of how we could abolish any amendment to the constitution today without some serious debating and huge national support.

In today’s debate concerning marijuana we don’t have to worry about making an amendment to the constitution in order to legalize this plant. Marijuana legalization is much more attainable now than ending prohibition was then. We cannot let ourselves be stopped before we have a chance to start. Marijuana legalization is attainable through hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

Fear a Powerful Weapon in Politics

2011-10-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Scare tactics are always present in politics. Both parties are guilty of using them to help their cause or to denounce an unpopular idea from an opposing argument. We see this everywhere in politics, where one side accuses the other of using scare tactics to argue their cases and so on. Why do political figures use scare tactics when facts alone should be enough to win an argument? The answer is simple, it works! Fear is one of the most powerful emotions that humans posses, and when someone is in fear of something they are more likely to behave irrationally. A popular scare tactic in politics today usually involves children, the elderly, or some other group that relies on protection or assistance from other people or programs. By identifying scare tactics before they happen, people are much less likely to fall victim to their influences. We need to recognize the scare tactics that are used in the arguments against marijuana legalization so that we can expose them for what they are.

Scare tactics are everywhere but we can learn to recognize that, while fear is a powerful emotion, a scare tactic should be taken with a grain of salt in an argument. Let’s take the argument on health care for example. When the healthcare debate first came up the Republicans used the scare tactic that grandma was going to be put in front of a “death panel” if universal health care was passed. Likewise when the Republican’s came up with their own plan about healthcare and social security, Democrats said that the plan would “push grandma off a cliff”. Now I don’t know about you, but if I was grandma I’d probably die of a heart attack from watching the news talk about how the Republicans and Democrats are trying to kill me. Both of these accusations caused seniors to speak out against each issue in great numbers, and the defending side found it difficult to reassure them. There are many scare tactics surrounding marijuana. I speak about many of them on this blog like the gateway drug theory, its affect on children, and crime rates. Hopefully I am successful at dispelling these popular scare tactics and revealing them for what they truly are, nothing more than dirty political games. Rest assured that prohibition supporters will always combat marijuana reform with more intense scare tactics as the issue progresses, and we will only be successful if we know how to address them properly.

There are three basic steps when it comes to fighting scare tactics. The first step in combating scare tactics related to marijuana is disproving them before they arise. How will we be able to do this? Think of politics as a game of chess. You have to be many steps ahead of your opponent, constantly predicting what he will do while adjusting your strategy when necessary. We must first think of what scare tactics the prohibition supporters will likely use. For example let’s say we realize that the opposing side will argue that children will be put in more danger if marijuana is legalized (which is a popular argument). Before this argument is made we must identify it and always discus how children will be safer and benefit from marijuana legalization. We need to explain how drug dealers would have less contact with kids and how a licensed sales person would not sell marijuana to them and so on. This way we stop the scare tactic before it has a chance to start. The second step is to expose the scare tactic before it is brought up by the opposing side. If we say “the other side will try to scare you by saying (insert argument here)”, then we will have already discredited the argument before it is brought up. By implementing this strategy we do one of two things, either the opposing side will abandon the argument or the argument will be widely ignored. This all depends on how well we are able to expose scare tactics for what they are. The third step is fairly simple. Many scare tactics lack substance. They are usually a couple of sentences stating a main idea that is simple for people to understand. As long as the public believes it the scare tactic requires little explanation. It only serves to create fear and often does not require a reasonable explanation; therefore, there is little preparation to back the argument with facts. By utilizing statistics and studies that support our argument over the scare tactic, many people will realize that the argument supported by the scare tactic is very thin and will be less likely to believe it. This especially works if the two previous steps in our strategy have already been used. Using this three step strategy we expose the scare tactic before it starts, build up arguments that disprove it before it starts, and finally debate the argument with overwhelming facts that support our case. If we can properly address scare tactics we will be more successful in promoting our cause.

I know what you’re asking yourself. If scare tactics carry such little weight then why are they so effective? When your brain activates fear it shuts down your ability to reason and make judgments. This is why survival guides tell people to remain calm and not to panic when they are faced with a very stressful situation. When you panic you are unable to make decisions or you make irrational ones. We have all heard of being “paralyzed with fear”. This is why the scare tactic is so effective in politics and why it is a useful strategy. If you make someone fearful they are less likely to rationalize. It is basic psychology being applied to politics.

Combating scare tactics will be one of the hardest parts when it comes to legalizing marijuana. After all, many of the arguments in favor of prohibition utilize them. However if we know how to combat them better we will be more successful in promoting marijuana legalization, and we have a greater chance of accomplishing our goal.