Cannabis needs regulation not prohibition
This is getting to be ridiculous. It is the scapegoat utilized by law enforcement to explain why people commit crimes. I just caught the end of O'Riley on Fox News and he played a clip of NYPD brass, I think his name was Bratton, that was trying to make the case that marijuana was causing violent crime and robberies, due to people wanting to buy and smoke cannibus. Did anyone in this country learn anything from prohibition? People kill, and steal because you are forced in most states to buy and sell marijuana illegally, on the black market. If it were readily available and regulated like alcohol, there would be no need to for individuals to break the law. Do these idiots realize that the prohibition that we as citizens are subject to, is the cause of most drug related crime, and this creates a huge money maker for criminals that are looking to cash in. Just ask Al Capone. Drug laws create the related crime. It is not illegal to be high, it is only illegal to possess the said substance. So, the consumption of the drug is not the reason you go to jail, having it in your pocket however, will land you some time. Illegal drugs need regulation, purity standards, and need to be available within a legal market. America has more incarcerated individuals per capita that any other country in the world, developed or otherwise. Most of those people that have their freedoms and rights taken away, are incarcerated on drug charges. I worked in corrections for 7 years, I have seen the numbers, drug charges outnumber all other violations by far. What does it accomplish, how much tax payer money is wasted caring for people that had a small bag of marijuana in their pocket. How much of the trouble, that society sees on a daily basis, is caused by the illegal marketing of the drug, rather than the drug itself. They are trying to demonize cannibus now that legalization legislation is starting to grow legs across the country. This is the global warming equivalent of the right wing agenda. Pretty soon they will start calling people "cannibus deniers". It also sets a dangerous precedent, if they can tell you that it is illegal to grow a particular type of vegetation. Could this open the door to banning private gardens, or the ability to grow your own food? WE are treading very dangerous waters right now, and these so called legislative "fixes" are not given much thought, as they are allowed to exist only, because it makes people "feel good" that they are doing something that is perceived as helping society. "For the greater good", sounds like a page right out of an Ayn Rand novel.
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How can you make nature illegal?
Exactly my point, and what slippery slope do you create when you start banning agriculture? Thanks for the response, I hope my ideas get people to look at this from a different angle.
Why does it need to be regulated?
I know, that doesn't sound right from a libertarian standpoint. Let me explain. Regulation as in purity standards to prevent someone from getting a dangerous fraudulent product. For example, the ingredients that are listed on a box of cereal, or a jug of orange juice that says it is infused with calcium. As a consumer, you want to know what you are getting, and you don't want to be consuming something that you are unaware of. That is the kind of regulation that I'm speaking of, not controlling the sale, but making sure that the producer is on the up and up with their product. That is the reason why outright prohibition is so dangerous. It doesn't allow for implementation of safety measures that assures the consumer that they are getting what they are paying for. I hope that helps.
Or that the product isn't grown with pesticides. Basic quality control.
Exactly