420 Policies and Laws

[sgreger1]

On of our ghettos, is so trashy, with people all hanging out on their porches and walking around with 40's, and I'm talking 8am, and the place has 3 liquor stores right across the street. Seriously.

Lol, same for my place in hunters point, it's a straight out ghetto and the city must have got smart because they built a liquor store directly in the middle of the residential area, it's the only business in walking distance. Must be making a fortune lol.

[sgreger1]

I wonder about ecstasy. I love me some MDMA. Physical addictions, not so much. But some depressed people would surely be addicted. The stuff makes you happier than ever.

Anyway, my doctor always told me to eat my vitamins

I never tried x though I sold it for a long time because I was able to obtain it at a great price and knew a lot of people at the parties I went to who would pay good money for it. But even having never tried it I always wondered what it would be like, from the research i've done it seems like the mdma isn't really that harmful at all but the shit x is cut with like meth and heroin is what gets you. I could be wrong, since most people I know who do ecstasy all the time are e-tarded but that may only be the people i've ran across.

[Joe234]

Because I'm already broke, and the rich aren't taking any money out of my check to fund their coke binges. .

Well, they almost lost the country in a financial meltdown.

I would imagine that most of the drug profits do not come from
welfare recipients. In fact I'll bet they spend more on alcohol and
tobacco.

[Joe234]

Medicine lol. A guy I know *really* well might smoke every day, but he does not consider it medicine any more than he considers beer to be medicine

Tell that to the people with chronic pain and cancer. Also depression and anxiety.
Not to mention it is a Harm Reduction for people in place of alcohol and hard drugs
just as snus is to cigarettes.

----

[sgreger1]

Republicans Decriminalize Marijuana in CA

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Thursday signed into law a bill that decriminalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. The bill reduces simple possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction.





Currently, small-time pot possession is "semi-decriminalized" in California. There is no possible jail sentence and a maximum $100 fine. But because possession is a misdemeanor, people caught with pot are "arrested," even if that means only they are served a notice to appear, and they must appear before a court.

That has happened to more than a half million Californians in the last decade, and more than 60,000 last year alone. Every one of them required a court appearance, complete with judge and prosecutor. That costs the cash-strapped state money it desperately needs.

Under the bill signed today, SB 1449, by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), pot possession will be treated like a traffic ticket. The fine will remain at $100, and there will be no arrest record.

In a signing statement, Schwarzenegger said he opposed decriminalization for personal use—and threw in a gratuitous jab at Proposition 19, the tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative—but that the state couldn't afford the status quo.

"I am signing this measure because possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is an infraction in everything but name," said Schwarzenegger. "The only difference is that because it is a misdemeanor, a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury trial and a defense attorney. In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket."

"Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state's taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders," said California NORML director Dale Gieringer. "Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources."

The law goes into effect January 1. Even if Prop 19 passes in November, it leaves in place misdemeanor charges for smoking in public or in the presence of minors. Those misdemeanors would become infractions under the new law.



Sacramento, CA United States

See map: Google Maps

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Good! I had to look up "avoirdupois ounce"

[raptor]

Good for Arnold!

[truthwolf1]

This is moving in the right direction.

You still have the right to go to court but I am sure 99% percent of the offenders will just pay the fine like a speeding ticket.

This is becoming more common now. They have created too many laws without realizing the consequences of grid-locking the system. The new thing is to look up your offense and pay a fine online. I am pretty sure the next step will be online courts with sentencing which will tell you where to show up for community service etc....

[sgreger1]

This is moving in the right direction.

You still have the right to go to court but I am sure 99% percent of the offenders will just pay the fine like a speeding ticket.

This is becoming more common now. They have created too many laws without realizing the consequences of grid-locking the system. The new thing is to look up your offense and pay a fine online. I am pretty sure the next step will be online courts with sentencing which will tell you where to show up for community service etc....

That's actuallya good idea. There's lots of shit that requires a court appearance that is frankly redundant. Should all be done online. Or should set up videoconfrence hearings. The judge chills in his chambers and people can go to small "videoconfrence courts" throughout the various cities to contest speeding tickets and shit via a WebEx conference or something. That way wouldn't have to have elaborate court houses, no security costs, and the facilities could be small. Just big enough to sit a few people and a room where people can show up.


We need to think of new ways to make it so that we don't waste money like we used to. That is what will bring long term recovery.

[Owens187]

November here we come!

[GoVegan]

Vote No! Alcohol is the most abused drug but could easily be surpassed by marijuana if this becomes legal. I am all for personal freedom but the legalization of marijuana will have a negative impact on us all. I am already seeing many issues regarding medical marijuana use and this will just make matters worse.

[lxskllr]

What negatives?

[texastorm]

Vote No! Alcohol is the most abused drug but could easily be surpassed by marijuana if this becomes legal. I am all for personal freedom but the legalization of marijuana will have a negative impact on us all. I am already seeing many issues regarding medical marijuana use and this will just make matters worse.

Your being sarcastic here right?

All the trouble with pot is the fact that its ILLEGAL meaning the people that sell it are by nature criminals. Many people also drink and I would be willing to place my paycheck on the fact that if you pick a major city and a point in time, I can find more alcohol related incidents than you can find pot related ones.

Pot has been vilified for far to long. Its not the same as getting drunk, it actually does have benefits, and rarely do people get hurt because they are high. More people get hurt because pot is illegal than get hurt because they used it. In other words the people that sell it can be ruthless criminals, and these people can cause some serious damage in the course of a days events. The end user rarely does any damage to anyone.

Instead of spending money fighting a losing war, we should be making money by taxing and regulating the use of the product in question. Even OTC drugs are regulated. Why not get your Bag O' Weed at the local Walgreens?

Oh and FYI I dont smoke weed and the legalizing of it will put a family member of mine out of business. I just dont see any sense in the laws against it. It is NOT the same as cocaine, heroin, meth or other hardcore stuff.

[GoVegan]

Your being sarcastic here right?

All the trouble with pot is the fact that its ILLEGAL meaning the people that sell it are by nature criminals. These people also drink for the most part and I would be willing to place my paycheck on the fact that if you pick a major city and a point in time, I can find more alcohol related incidents than you can find pot related ones.

Pot has been vilified for far to long. Its not the same as getting drunk, it actually does have benefits, and rarely do people get hurt because they are high. More people get hurt because pot is illegal than get hurt because they used it. In other words the people that sell it can be ruthless criminals, and these people can cause some serious damage in the course of a days events. The end user rarely does any damage to anyone.

Instead of spending money fighting a losing war, we should be making money by taxing and regulating the use of the product in question. Even OTC drugs are regulated. Why not get your Bag O' Weed at the local Walgreens?

Oh and FYI I dont smoke weed and the legalizing of it will put a family member of mine out of business. I just dont see any sense in the laws against it. It is NOT the same as cocaine, heroin, meth or other hardcore stuff.

It may be harder to abuse than a lot of other drugs out there but the potential is still there. Marijuana can still be a dangerous drug and people still become very addicted to it. Besides, the laws regarding marijuana use, at least in California, are very lax and the only time I see people getting busted for it are when they do something stupid and draw attention to themselves. I am thinking that we may just want to let sleeping dogs lie and leave things as they are.

[raptor]

Cannabis isn't dangerous by any stretch of the imagination.

Portugal has decriminalized harder drugs like heroin for a decade and its use has decreased over that time period.