Why is Weed Illegal?
- Thread starter EmilyRose
- Start date
EmilyRose
Member
lopezri
Well-Known Member
It has become illegal now because government can't figure out how best to make money from it. Right now they make a killing from hydroponic companies, etc. Figure out a way to make money (taxes) for the government and they would legalize it. As a rule... always follow the money and you will figure the corruption.
wheels619
Well-Known Member
the gov is taxing dispensories in california. but are now trying to shut them down anyways. it the people in power. we need new younger brighter thinking individuals that dont have heads up their asses to come into power so they can make cthe changes that the u.s. drasticaly need. people have said that every country has a revolution about evey 200 years or so right. isnt it time for ours?
bkbbudz
New Member
As time passes the children of the 'Anslinger Age' are fading away and leaving the political arena. We now have a President that understands the sense legalizing makes. Will he be the one to do it? Maybe yes maybe no. But if not him, someone in the pretty near future will. I just hope I am still alive to see it.
Jogro
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, this isn't true. Horse/cart, etc.
Marijuana was banned decades before anyone had any reason to try growing it indoors hydroponically, and decades before there was any such thing as commercially available hydroponic nutrients. Those things are relatively recent developments, and both the RESULT of marijuana being banned, not the cause. Also, however big the hydroponics industry is, its still just a small fraction of the size of the actual cannabis market itself.
On money, there has been a tax stamp program in place for cannabis in many states for decades, including (and especially) States where growing and possession were and are illegal. So there is no mystery on how any given State would need to go about collecting money from MJ sales. In those states the gov't doesn't have to do ANYTHING special to collect revenues from MJ sales, other than to simply enforce already existing laws on State sales tax and cannabis tax.
Remember, on a Federal level, cannabis was legal in the USA well into the late 1930s, really right before WWII. So not only was cannabis perfectly legal in the USA for the first 150 years of its history, there was a period in American history when cannabis was legal, but alcohol was illegal! Cannabis was also widely used as an ingredient in over-the-counter medicines up to the early 20th century.
I was oversimplifying earlier, but it really *IS* true that cannabis was banned in good part because it was a favored drug of Mexicans and Blacks. Its also true that like alcohol prohibition, the FEDERAL level prohibition of cannabis didnt' occur until after it was banned or heavily restricted in a number of States first. I would suggest that the same model would apply in reverse. . .cannabis isn't going to be decriminalized on a Federal level until it happens in at least a number of States first. If you're an activist interested in the legalization of cannabis, State decriminalization is where you should be spending your energy right now.
Jogro
Well-Known Member
President Obama has made absolutely no indication whatsoever that his administration is interested in decriminalizing cannabis on a Federal level, and to the contrary, he's indicated that he won't. I wouldn't hold my breath for Obama to spend any bit of his dwindling political capital on liberalizing American MJ policy either. He's sure as hell not going to attempt it in an election year, and bluntly, the way things look for him right now, he'll be lucky to even have a second term in office to contemplate this.
I'd also make the argument to you that Presidents Clinton AND Bush (like Obama, both of whom have also effectively admitted to smoking marijuana) "should" also know that its not a particularly dangerous drug. The question isn't knowing or not knowing how safe/dangerous MJ is, its where the political capital is going to get spent. I don't think any US President is going to stick their neck out for MJ until and unless there is a strong public chorus demanding it.
Also, as a matter of practice, as Nixon was the only one who could "go to China", since his background (a Republican and diehard anti-communist) made that sort of move seem reasonable, instead of weakness, its probably going to be politically easier for a Republican president with a strong anti-crime background to liberalize Federal MJ restriction. A pot-smoking liberal like Obama would actually have a harder time pulling this off.
I'd also hasten to add that the Federal marijuana laws are just that. . .LAW. The President can choose not to enforce existing law, if he likes, or more precisely, to de-emphasize enforcement, but he can't by himself alter the law. If you want MJ truly legalized on a Federal level, that's going to take an act of Congress. . .the same Congress that banned it in the first place.
So if you think, for example, that voting for Ron Paul for President is going to create a Federal legalization of MJ, think again. At best Paul might not enforce Federal MJ law, and not harass the legal dispensaries, but that's probably about as far as he could go. Looking at Obama, he promised that he would have Guantanamo Bay closed immediately after taking office. . .three years later, he still didn't get it done, and I'd argue to you that closing a prison is a heck of a lot easier politically speaking than legalizing cannabis! The point is, its one thing to make pre-election promises, and quite another thing to actually pull them off while in office, even with good intent!
Any claims made by candidate Paul on this issue have to be taken with a gigantic grain of salt. He may sincerely want to reform Federal MJ law, but I don't think that the US Congress is anywhere near the point now where it would actually vote to do it. Remember, as a House member for 20+ years, Paul hasn't been able to liberalize Federal MJ law, nor even move the ball in that direction one inch. Why is he going to be able to pull it off as POTUS?
More to the point, even in California, one of the most pro-MJ States there is, that STATE couldn't pass prop 19 to legalize MJ, only two years ago. If the State of CA isn't able to legalize MJ now by simple popular vote, then there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that the entire US Congress (which includes representatives from socially conservative States like Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, etc) is going to do it.
Bottom line, anyone who thinks that Federal reform of MJ law is just around the corner probably needs to put down the bong. While its true that the trends of State decriminalization, State-level medical MJ, and public opinion are all moving in the right direction, the movement is still slow, and I think we're looking at at LEAST 5-10 more years before Federal level decriminalization is plausible.
bkbbudz
New Member
What I want to know is what was it about this simple statement that Obama unserstands that legalization makes sense, prompts a political soap box of a pontification? Understand I am not trying to start anything here or troll this thread in anyway shape or form. You are right Obama is not likely going to push legalization. And I also agree about the need for change on a local and state level long before Fed level. We are fighting the same war here my friend. No need to throw stones. No hard feelings.
cannofbliss
Well-Known Member
well not to get into a too large debate... but the real issue is the fake and fraudulent system of legalities...
and why you and everyone else should NOT want them to incorporate it further into the legal system...
cannabis is already completely "lawful" for a human being to consume whatever he or she wants...
but it is the "legal entity" that the legal system has a title over and thus can punished for it as in (insert legal term "person" and their incorporated name "JOHN RUDOLPH DOE") is now "charged" well... they use that word for a reason is because your "person" is being monetarily accounted for as a judge only really in the system of commercial legalities is a banker...
they have already looked at a budget for the fiscal year and have projections to meet for amount of incarcerations for the prison market that the "state" the banker... i mean judge works for...
why else do you think they have such leeway with "minimum" and maximum sentencing... it is more complicated than this but simply put it is so they can balance a budget of how much money will the state receive per person for each year in prison...
the problem with the "legal" system is that there is nothing legal or lawful about it...
and the problem is that statutes are NOT laws... just because something has the colour of law does not make it LAW...
everybody that is "born" into this system is done by fraudulent actions of the "legal system" aka "company policy" corporation of america... at birth humans are charted and "accounted" for as already having a carefully calculated worth and are essentially "stock" to the bank that holds the title of the parent corp aka "usa"...
did anyone know that the title of police officer(policy official) is nothing more than an officer who enforces the policies of the company they work for i.e the city say san diego inc. then over them the county then the state california inc. and then up to its parent company usa...
at this time you are "regis"tered (in legal speak the regis is in submission to the king or dominant authority over a person)...
well again a little more complicated than this but... oops did you or someone else just register or already are registered to vote for your next american idol contest winner who is really no more than a scapegoating usa ceo actor/car salesman for the real string pullers the ones who control the money who manipulate like masters...
if or when someone registers their "name"... this way it doesnt matter whos in office the fact someone registered has nothing to do with who ends up "winning" the next american idol contest (pres)... the fact someone registered means that they are giving over their consent to have their "name"... their legal identity in submission to the governing bodies not only to the entire country but even down to what is called a "voting district" which is another fancy name for smaller governing conglomerates even further such as your state, then, district, county, city, town etc...
heres the issue... according to the "legal" system and including the true LAW "common law" one has to be able to give consent in order to be "under" the authority of another...
as a baby there is no way you or anyone else for that matter could have ever given their own consent... it is more descriptively called "informed" consent...
so to keep this from being a rant... i just wish everyone knew that the system is a farce and a simple way of them making revenue with liquidity for banks...
here's a question for ya... why do you think they call it a "bill" in congress...
ill give you a hint... theyre called that because thats exactly what it is...
its a bill... and its kinda like your cell phone or credit card bills except even more purposely confusing and much much more expensive...
and why you and everyone else should NOT want them to incorporate it further into the legal system...
cannabis is already completely "lawful" for a human being to consume whatever he or she wants...
but it is the "legal entity" that the legal system has a title over and thus can punished for it as in (insert legal term "person" and their incorporated name "JOHN RUDOLPH DOE") is now "charged" well... they use that word for a reason is because your "person" is being monetarily accounted for as a judge only really in the system of commercial legalities is a banker...
they have already looked at a budget for the fiscal year and have projections to meet for amount of incarcerations for the prison market that the "state" the banker... i mean judge works for...
why else do you think they have such leeway with "minimum" and maximum sentencing... it is more complicated than this but simply put it is so they can balance a budget of how much money will the state receive per person for each year in prison...
the problem with the "legal" system is that there is nothing legal or lawful about it...
and the problem is that statutes are NOT laws... just because something has the colour of law does not make it LAW...
everybody that is "born" into this system is done by fraudulent actions of the "legal system" aka "company policy" corporation of america... at birth humans are charted and "accounted" for as already having a carefully calculated worth and are essentially "stock" to the bank that holds the title of the parent corp aka "usa"...
did anyone know that the title of police officer(policy official) is nothing more than an officer who enforces the policies of the company they work for i.e the city say san diego inc. then over them the county then the state california inc. and then up to its parent company usa...
at this time you are "regis"tered (in legal speak the regis is in submission to the king or dominant authority over a person)...
well again a little more complicated than this but... oops did you or someone else just register or already are registered to vote for your next american idol contest winner who is really no more than a scapegoating usa ceo actor/car salesman for the real string pullers the ones who control the money who manipulate like masters...
if or when someone registers their "name"... this way it doesnt matter whos in office the fact someone registered has nothing to do with who ends up "winning" the next american idol contest (pres)... the fact someone registered means that they are giving over their consent to have their "name"... their legal identity in submission to the governing bodies not only to the entire country but even down to what is called a "voting district" which is another fancy name for smaller governing conglomerates even further such as your state, then, district, county, city, town etc...
heres the issue... according to the "legal" system and including the true LAW "common law" one has to be able to give consent in order to be "under" the authority of another...
as a baby there is no way you or anyone else for that matter could have ever given their own consent... it is more descriptively called "informed" consent...
so to keep this from being a rant... i just wish everyone knew that the system is a farce and a simple way of them making revenue with liquidity for banks...
here's a question for ya... why do you think they call it a "bill" in congress...
ill give you a hint... theyre called that because thats exactly what it is...its a bill... and its kinda like your cell phone or credit card bills except even more purposely confusing and much much more expensive...
potpimp
Sector 5 Moderator
From me also!!
cannofbliss
Well-Known Member
thanks guys... as you can probably already tell that this subject is such a passionate one of mine and many others on here lol
theres alot more too it than my post above is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak...
eventually everyone or enough of everyone will see the fraudulent system for what it is soon enough... and as im sure many others and i hope and should communicate this and more to many that one day all of the bullshit in the world will come to an end...
eventually i suppose
theres alot more too it than my post above is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak...
eventually everyone or enough of everyone will see the fraudulent system for what it is soon enough... and as im sure many others and i hope and should communicate this and more to many that one day all of the bullshit in the world will come to an end...
eventually i suppose
cannofbliss
Well-Known Member
to emilyrose... even though your question has been brought up probably a trillion times before on here and elsewhere, but it is an important question... and can always be brought to light often and wherever to expose why it was and still is "illegal"...
whether it was a simple question or not and also may have been answered a million different times before...
regardless of that... good post it should always be brought up often
cannofbliss
Well-Known Member
heres something people should consider... heres why they shut down dispensaries and it is simple also why the state "allows" the feds to do it...
it is as simple as supply and demand... if there are too many dispensaries then there is too much competition + supply thus that drives the price of cannabis down and thus what really hurts the pockets of the state is a loss in revenue(taxes)...
but if they the state and fed can keep the supply low and lower the competition between dispensaries/pharmacies...
then that will keeps the price of cannabis high... which in turn is how the tax collectors directly keep a higher proportionate amount of money from the initial cost which are the taxes made off of it...
its just another stupid way for them to try and control a market... and a simple way of raising taxes without raising taxes if you get my drift...
bud nugbong
Well-Known Member
...pharmeceutical companys would lose billions,oil companys would lose billions,cotton industry would lose billions.,alcohol revenue would drop therefore losing billions,cigarrette sales would drop losing billions.......its in there interest to keep people fucked up on prescription drugs,its in their interest to keep pepple drinking alcohol and profiting off abuse,its in there interest to rape the planet instead of using hemp as a natural resource....B
exactly why!!, the people who run the world would lose money. it would save millions and millions maybe billions of people trillions of dollhairs. but because of greed and corruption we gotta pay 300 an oz for somehting that should be way cheaper.
Jack Harer
Well-Known Member
Guys, back in the 70's, we always said EXACTLY those same words. "We need to get the uptight assholes out of power. Wait until our generation is in then we'll we'll see a change. We will legalize pot!" Well, boys and girls, my generation IS NOW in power, and it's the same old shit. Along with passing down the mantle of power, they also passed down the money machine.
And we know more now about the real "dangers" of MJ. Back in the 60's and 70's for all we knew, MJ WAS dangerous! We now know that the whole thing is a complete farce, and yet it remains illegal, and a cash cow for those on Capital Hill.
I don't think we're any closer to legalization now than we were back in the 70's. I believe that the government has orchestrated this whole "medical" thing to be held up as a shining example of a "failed experiment". The old "give people an inch" thing. I believe that the whole thing was set up to be easily corrupted by people, so that the government could say "Hey, we TRIED to give you the choice but you blew it!"
Cannofbliss, first, I wanna say that your first post (the lengthy one) came the closest I have ever seen to "niggling" out the truth behind all of this. VERY well thought out!!
We ARE just a statistical number to the government. The entire purpose of the census is to count the "herd" and anticipate the tax income. All we are is the cash cow income of the government, or as it was put, "the puppet masters who pull the strings". At birth, we have an anticipated value to the Government in the projected taxes that we will pay in our lifetime. They REALLY don't care how many blacks live in one area, or how many Chinese are living elsewhere, they count us, putting us into our respective expected income slots so that they can budget for future spending. That's one of the reasons why the national budget is figured 7 years in advance.
The justice system, the judicial system, corrections and law enforcement are bloated to an all time high, and it's the taxpayers money that funds it all. There is simply more money to be had by milking federal tax dollars for these programs than there is in the legalization and taxation of MJ. 30 years ago, the DEA didn't exist, now they set National drug policy!!!
It isn't only tax dollars that fund this either. A whole lot of money is paid to the lobbyists by the Big Pharm, Oil, Timber and other industries that would be adversely affected by legalization, and all that money gets spread around Capital Hill into the pockets of those we elected to represent us.
No, I doubt we'll see full legalization in our lifetime. I truly hope I'm wrong!!!
Phate
Member
TYVM , I just watched the whole thing. It says more about our country than just about MJ. The whole prison industry and pharma industries are just scary. Like the goal is to keep you in and out of jail and hooked on pills till you die... SCARY!