"Legalize and tax, use the tax for treatment."

Denny please.

That bromide has been used to death. The multi-billion dollar tobacco settlement was supposed to fund health care, red light cameras to fund traffic improvement and safety, ad infinitum. It always sounds so good and always goes out the window before the ink is dry on the new legislation. Any tax is immediately redirected into whatever "emergency" whichever twits in whatever agency determine is best for us, never mind what they promised. Promises are after all less important than funding somehing to do good for all they little chirrun's, don't you know?

So let's not have this hoary ol' "Legalize and Tax." crock any more. Just legalize and that's it. You know as well as anyone that all money is fungible.

Gerry N.

I would be inclined to agree with you, however, as in the case of Amsterdam, legalizing it would not take away the criminal activity involved with it. In some respects, it would actually legitimize it. I have also long theorized that the only real reason it isn't legal is because of the tax situation. Pot is so easy to grow in your own home, most people would grow it instead of buy it. Being a former pothead, I know this all to well. I don't believe enough tax revenue would be generated to really do much of anything. If so, then the Dems would already have legislation in the works as they do so love new tax revenue.

Actually, I just had an epiphany. Maybe they only provide lip service to their desire to legalize it but will not since most potheads are poor. You know we can not expect the lowly poor to pay taxes That's what you're here for!!! /sarc

I just legalized some in my lungs.

I'm 19 years old, not too far from 20. Never smoked pot in my life, don't intend to, but I know people who do. They're stupid. I'm sure some people can do it and maintain some semblance of intelligence, most people cannot. Work ethic, study ethic, and things like that seriously suffer in every person I've ever known. I think that the outcome of some sort of legalization for anyone but Grandma and her Glaucoma, will be a hell of a lot different than the glowing idea of money from taxes from it. What about weight gain, laziness, job loss (not from drug testing, just the useless way a lot of potheads carry themselves) and the costs of all of that, in the long term? Will the 25% tax on a dime bag cover all of the things that come with it?

None of that is rooted in any science, just personal knowledge on every pothead I've ever encountered.

Should add a little tidbit; the point was moderation. Most people around my age don't have it.

Josh, good point and well said. But there's a lot at my age (mid 40's) that would fall into the same category. As a tax payer, I will fight legalization of drugs UNLESS I get some type of gurantee that my tax money will not be going to "rehabilitate" those that were too weak willed in the first place to not get hooked on drugs. I realize that there's a big difference between weed and harder drugs, but as Josh said above, I haven't seen too many "stoners" that weren't as dumb as a bag of rocks, but then again, maybe they were that way off the stuff too. And I know pot heads aren't likely to commit violent crimes in order to get their fix, so I recognize some differences there. But if legalizing any drug is going to occur on a national level, I demand that the financial impact be determined on productivity, down time, and health problems that might come about because of it, and no government funds be diverted to anything that might be related to said drug habit.

Hell Denney, this might mean the slopes will be less crowded. The heads will smoke a joint, think about skiing and decide "fuck it, it's too cold, let's burn another one"!

Denny: I'm with you on this one. Right on!

Kerrcarto-
BWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Some of the points made here are on key, but some just don't make good sense. I'm 57 years old and suffer with the dreaded disease M/S. I worked the same job for over 25 years before M/S really took over. I smoked marijuana since I was 18 just to help ease the pain I live with. I also set up another electrical business before retiring.

I sent two daughters to college and my two sons now run the family business.

When it comes to condemning all the POT Heads maybe the people that do the condemning need to look at both sides of the big picture.

I have wrote our president (Obama) about the change of marijuana laws. I hope the change of these laws take place before I kick the bucket!!!

One other thing, I was 16 when I droped out of school to take over the family business. All of us POT Heads are not bad!!!

AMEN James! I know a lot of tokers who are successfull, have families, go to church, raise their kids right, are conservative and not your typical Fast Times at Ridgemont High stoners.

On the other hand, I know a lot of fucking idiots who smoke the shit and turn into brain dead zombies, can't hold a job or get their shit straight in life.

Kinda like liberals...

Laziness and lack of work ethic are the earmarks of the weak willed and IMO many people under the age of 30. Many of today's 'young' have a misplaced sense of entitlement that overshadows their ability to do an honest day's work. Add pot to that mix and, sure, it exacerbates things. But I know many a middle aged smoker that have their shit in one sock and are quite successful. Same thing with any other vice, some people are able to be 'social' partakers, while others have no sense of moderation or time and place.

One other thing besides taxing it--the "quality" and "potency" could be controlled. The user would know exactly what was in his bag of weed--they would know it hadn't been "juiced up" with harder core drugs like pcp,or meth, for example, in an attempt to get them hooked on stronger, more addictive drugs.

The amount of THC could be controlled, much like the amount of alcohol is in hard liquors. This MIGHT mean people only getting a little "high" instead of totally wiped out. Then again, it might just lead to more of a black market for the "good stuff" too, hard to say.

The big problem with legalizing drugs is that it makes it even more accessible to kids than it already is, probably not a good thing...

James: I fully support your being able to do that, especially if it generally helps for pain. But in Oregon, I have a family member who broke his leg, and got a script for 'the pain'. He went from being a college football player (very smart kid, great athlete) to being the neighborhood drug grower (and not much else). I don't think you'd disagree that as a rule of thumb, you and others like you (and I know that they are out there) are the exception to the rule.

And as far as the sense of moderation with vices, I generally agree. But I know major alcoholics and smokers or chewers, who can still function like they're not missing an important cog in their brain, like the vast majority of pot smokers do. I grew up around a lot of them, and like I said, I know there are major exceptions, but it's definately not the plurality of people who smoke.

The thing is most of the smokers who are "smart" and productive citizens are the ones that you do not know smoke. And some one once told my you can not teach stupid. SO LETS NOT BLAME WEED FOR STUPID PEOPLE..

Charlie Delta, I believe in mind over matter. Many people let different things control the way they think, act and live. I see people who let different substances put a hold on what they are about. I don't believe marijuana should be legal except for medical use.I told my neurologist I use marijuana many years ago and he said he understood and felt it should be legal in all 50 states for medical reasons. I just recently wrote all my senators and men congeressmen in my state about why some states it is not illegal and it is in this state. I was told they would do anything they can to keep it that way. I hope none of them or their families have to go through the hell I live with.
I live out where I can grow a little every year. I don't associate with drug heads. I don't worry to much about the law or anyone seeing it.

James-
Only for medical reasons it should be legal? Who, exactly defines "medical" reasons/Rx?

Weed is no different than the 12-pack of beer or the pint of booze. To say that it should only be 'legal' for "medical" reasons is not only silly but laughable.

How many people are laying in the gutter from puffin' a doob as opposed to the people in the gutter from drinking brake fluid for the alcohol?

I'm sorry for the shit that you have to go through, but don't bogart the doob! It's apples and oranges man...

I forget.

poletax