Marijuana laws- O/T

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Eric72

The legalization of marijuana seems to have taken a foothold on the shoreline of this battle. While Washington and Colorado are the only states which have yet "legalized" it, there are other governmental organizations which have changed their stance.

For instance, the municipality of Philadelphia, PA has, "decriminalized" the possession of marijuana, provided that the amount possessed is under a certain threshold. Personally, I think this might be a good model to follow. If you choose to partake, then it should not be (in and of itself) criminal behavior.

However, if you then go out and drive, commit a crime, expose someone else to second hand smoke, etc., there should be consequences. And I believe these should be handled in a similar manner to DUI, committing a crime while intoxicated, or serving alcohol to someone who later gets in a car wreck leaving one's house after drinking at a party. BTW - the latter is a law on the books in some states...in the area where I live, it's NJ.

Just my two cents. I'm not condoning marijuana use...just positing that it's not much different than alcohol use. Whether people prefer apples or oranges, let them enjoy fruit. Whether people prefer a beer or a toke, let them enjoy a buzz.

Best regards,

Eric

We pretty much think alike here, Eric.

Let me just say that I support the legalization of marijuana 100%. I don't use it, never have (unless you count getting high from second hand smoke at various rock concerts), and probably never will. That's just a personal choice. But I very much believe that consenting adults should be able to do what they want in the privacy of their own home. Stop wasting tax payer money fighting the production of marijuana. Provide education as to the possible side effects of its use, and let adults make up their own minds. Then tax the legal sales of marijuana. Doing so almost immediately starts taking a huge chunk out of the federal deficit.

As for those that are concerned about people getting stoned, and then driving their car, I feel you have every right to express yourself. However, I suspect that many of the people who are most likely to exhibit this kind of terrible judgement are already doing so. They are already getting their marijuana, or drinking, and getting behind the wheel. Yes, there will be more people that exercise poor judgement if marijuana sale is legalized. To combat this, I feel more needs to be done by our legislators.

The laws in place to punish those who drive under the influence are woefully inadequate. If you get behind the wheel, and your blood alcohol is above the legal limit, you should go to jail for six months. Period. Your license should be taken away for a year, and that begins the day you get our of jail. If you do it a second time, your license should be revoked permanently, and you should go to jail for three years. If you injure someone, you should do jail time commensurate with the bodily harm you've inflicted. If you kill somebody while driving under the influence, you should be put away for life. No exceptions. I'm all for personal freedoms, but if you abuse those freedoms, and hurt somebody else in the process, then justice should be swift, and the punishment harsh. The news here in Texas is littered with stories of people who have had several duis later killing somebody while driving drunk. I'm talking people who have had 3, 4 of 5 duis. That's ridiculous. They shouldn't be able to drive. They should be in jail. With the legalization of marijuana, you're going to have more room in prisons. Fill them up with people that turn their vehicles into lethal weapons.

Now, I'm going to blow your minds, chaps. While we're on the subject of decriminalization, I also feel prostitution should be legalized. It would go a long way towards removing the stigma from prostitution, and regulated escort services would be a first step towards ensuring that only the men and women of legal age, who wish to be employed as escorts, are doing so. Regulated escort services will ensure that testing is done, reducing the rates of sexually transmitted diseases. I also believe that legalized prostitution will reduce crime. One report I read about prostitution and sex crimes from the Independent Institute theorized that rape in the United States would drop by 25% if prostitution were legalized. Now, that paper was from 2004. I compared more recent data from the United States and the Netherlands. In 2011, there were over 84,676 rapes reported in the United States, more than any other country in the world. In the Netherlands which, granted, is a much smaller country, there were 1,530 rapes in the same year. However, by reported rape cases per million, the United States ranked ninth at 274 cases per million. The Netherlands reported 92 cases per million, which ranked them 25th. Now, to rely on these numbers alone would be an oversimplification of a significant problem. There is much more to it. One would need to also consider things like violence in media, views on sexuality in the different societies, etc. But it does show that, in the abstract, there are more rapes in the United States, a country where prostitution is not legalized, then in the Netherlands, a nation where prostitution is legalized. At the very least, these numbers are compelling. And then, there is also the financial impact of legalized prostitution. Taxing the service would create more revenue for the federal government.

Imagine if marijuana and prostitution were both legalized in America. The tax dollars from both would greatly reduce the debt. I also feel certain that fewer people would be going to jail. Prisons across the United States are overpopulated. If prostitution is legalized, escorts and their clients are no longer going to jail. If marijuana is legalized, those dealing marijuana exclusively, and those using it, are not going to jail. And the incidence of rape in the United States could drop drastically. This frees up the police to focus on real criminals.