NEWS: Torn Over Marijuana

POLITICS: Torn Over Marijuana

When do you support something you don't believe in? That is the question many conservatives and liberals are asking themselves right now. A Supreme Court case that begins today will discuss the legalization of marijuana. The federal controlled substances act prohibits sales and usage of illegal drugs under the somewhat questionable constitutional auspices of regulating interstate commerce. Twelve states have passed or are in the process of approving measures legalizing marijuana for medicinal usage. Seems simple enough, but because on the state level, what the two ladies are doing is not illegal, federalism is making an appearance and making many justices uncomfortable.

You know, this decision would probably be easier if all of the justices sat down and got high together. If it were legal and controlled by the federal government.

I think it is rediculous that medical marijuana is made out to be a liberal issue, instead of being a scientific issue.

yawn... prohibition never works

my friend was watching Interpol from the roof of his building during a summer fest here in Chicago. He had his bag and his bong and was using them liberally. He just doesn't give a fuck.
A couple of cops came up using there standard roof access line of "someone saw people throwing things off the roof". I've heard that line from different cops on different roofs in different parts of the city.
anyways, they shine their flashlights on my friend, and he's real cool and accountable taking responsiblity for the herb and bong so the other people up there don't get hassled. The cops take the herb and walk away. No surprise.
but surprise, they give it back! Seriously! Chicago cops gave my friend his cannabis back!
They must have not wanted to fill out paperwork to ticket him for probably no more than an eighth. It's also a well known fact that cops like the city summer fests with pretty girls and good music

on that note, i shouldn't have done some sanding so close to my stash. I have a fine layer of wood dust all over it now!

I've always thought the same thing about environmental issues. it should be a matter of science, not political alliances. drugs should be a health issue, not a legal issue.

this is going to turn out just like gay marriage. conservatives like to pretend that states should do what they want, but when they go against what the conservatives in power want, suddenly they pull a "flip-flop" and the federal government should decide.

Fucking hell!

When the fuck did it come down to a fucking party issue? THIS IS ABOUT MEDICINE AND SAVING PEOPLE'S LIVES and these fuckers on the Hill are more concerned about whether their actions appear liberal or conservative.

Meanwhile, people undergoing radiation therapy and HIV therapy, may die because of their adverse reactions to the treatment (namely their inability to eat). Not to mention glaucoma.

I'm as political as they get, but fucking a, when it comes down to a political party and someone's health, where the fuck does it even become a question?

It's shit like this that is destroying our country. It's shit like this that, on increasingly less rare occasions, make me ashamed to be an American (and, as a jingoistic fanatic, this is akin to being ashamed of my very identity).

Every conservative I've ever met who isn't one of those batshit insane authoritarian/fundamentalist assholes has conceded that marijuana should be legalized.

There are no *good* reasons for pot to be illegal. Legalization and taxation of marijuana would be a benefit to everyone involved EXCEPT for the assholes who currently profit by charging you $50 an eighth. If alcohol and cigarettes- which make up almost all of the drug related deaths (not to mention shit like aspirin)- get to be legal, marijuana should be too.

The actual reasons why weed is illegal, and the lame arguments you hear from proponents of it's prohibition, are practically a laundry list of exactly what is wrong with this country.

They can take my bong when they pry it from my cold, dead, stoned fingers.

insufferable informa, crazy fools...

They should just leagalize everything. that way the government can save alot of money, make more money and put the emphasis on education and health.

There was an article about dope smuggling to the villages today, all the LEOs out there say it's a waste of effort. They never get calls about incidents related to dope use, it's 99% alcohol related.

old lady: "i smoke marijuana for my glacoma."
stonerbud: "i smoke marijuana to get high."

LeeeegalEYEizit

Alright well lets see how to explain my feelings on this topic. Is weed bad? Naa not really. Should it be illegal? Nope. Should there be rules, you bet your ass. They should treat it like alcohol.

As for Steelbender's comment.... I totally disagree. Whatever you want to do with your life is fine, but when you say OK its legal, your going to have issues. Remeber the drunk pilots flying around? Just think if you had somone on crack or acid flying. I just dont want to put my life in the hands of someone who is drunk/high much less gacked out on something worse.

That being said I have never smoked done drugs etc. Yeah yeah I dont know what I am missing etc. Fuck I never even tried a cigarette in my life. I dont give a shit if you smoke, as long as you dont breath it down my face. Well if you can help it. Clubs Bars etc I understand. My mothers ciggarettes make my fucking head hurt but most others dont. I just dont want it ok to smoke weed out and bars and shit because I would not like to be high and trying to drive home, because I got a contact buzz.

medical marijuana is legal in Oregon... but most jobs still test for "illegal" drugs.... how does all that shit work out? DOes anyone know?

You get a perscription. You show it to your employer and they can't use it against you.

You get a perscription. You show it to your employer and they can't use it against you.

Well don't mind much if crack stays illegal, but they can test for other drugs. Pilots and other such professions should have to be tested, as I'm pretty sure they already are. But if you're not a pilot or someone whose job performance is dependant on their sobriety, why shouldn't you be able to drop acid every now and then?

Contact buzzes are basically a myth. Almost all the THC is absorbed by your lungs when you first inhale it, and any remaining THC that goes into the air breaks down in about 16 seconds. So unless you're hotboxing in a car or taking shotgun hits from someone, you don't really have anything to worry about.

Anyway, this is all irrelevant to the main contention that pot should be legal-- especially for medicinal purposes-- for people to smoke in the privacy of their own home.

I have an uneasy feeling that even a "strong" ruling by the court could somehow be derailed by some kind of sneaky political maneuvering by the prohibition lobby and their congressional lapdogs. They seem to find new ways to subvert the actual legislative process for their benefit all the time.

Either way, for your average stoner, it can't get much worse than it already is.

Maybe I should clarify. I do not belive that the government should have a say on what we do to ourselves. Wether that be alcohol, drugs , sex, gay or straight marriage, pornography, abortion, suicide, blah,blah,blah...

What i do beleive is that we should make the penalties for doing such things such as flying or driving intoxicated more severe. Right now in the state of florida a drunk driving charge if convicted may cost you about 10,000 and maybe 6 months in jail for a first offense (maybe) you loose your license at first but then you can get a work purposes one any way. It is all bullshit.

If any one does anything; intoxicated or not ; that puts any one elses life at risk they should be severely punished. Do you really think they would knowingly allow a doctor to operate if he was stoned. And please don't tell your are soo gulable to think that it does not happen already. Although the doctors do not have to go to the corner to pick up a dime bag, they can just open the cabinet and get the good stuff.

By the way, I am a cop if you can beleive that.

Just to clarify, though the oral arguments begin tomorrow, it will likely be spring or summer before we hear the ruling. They could have something sooner, but it's very, very rare, especially in an issue such as this one with potentially wide-reaching ramifications. Please try not to get your hopes up about hearing the results too soon.

Its the Constitution, Stupid.

The way the Fed.gov gets to regulate drugs is the Interstate Commerce Clause. The problem with this is that we're having instances of individuals growing and smoking their own dope, and never engaging in any act of commerce, let alone commerce which crosses state lines.

This case is either going to require a truly amazing act of doublethin- err, sorry, logical flexibility- on the part of the Supreme Court, or there is going to be a big change in the future. And, naturally, the case has lots of influence beyond drugs.

IF a precident is set that if you grow or make it yourself, for yourself, and never transport it across state lines or sell it then the federal government has no standing to regulate it...well. Lets see. Does this mean I can legally make a machine gun in my basement? The legislation forbidding this also relies on the commerce clause.

I say fuck it make pot legal, it will make it alot less tempting to those who just want to do it because it is not allowed not to mention i will feel alot safer driving around with my peace in my car

that's not entirely true. It worked and it diddn't work. You had two groups of people during prohibition. Those that wouldn't break the law and those that would. Alcoholism did go down. A majority of people stopped drinking because it was illeagel. So, in this hand it was a success.

Then there were the people that told the government to fuck off and opened speak eases andserved alcohol illeagly. Among these types, the rum running and moonshine buisness was very profitable. In this hand, it failed.

Most people only hear about the failure because that is what is taught in school or put in the moview, etc. Back in 1990 my Mom was working as a geneologist at Northeastern University in Chicago. She easily found documentation proving Prohitibition's failures but after some digging the documentation of it successes were found.

Frankly I don't give a shit about Prohibition. I rarely drink, never been drunk and never tried drugs. I think I'm one of the feew on the planet by the way. However, if anyone else wanted to get fucked up on drugs or alcohol, have at it.

I'm not with out my vices of course. The staff at the local Mc Donadls knows me by name. I just hit the drive thru and say "it's Carl, 'll take the usual".

[edited for spelling]

[Edited on Nov 29, 2004 4:31AM]

Oh man, dont you know that shit'll kill ya?

Thanks bean, that's helpful.

It's my understanding that the actual constitutionality of the controlled substances act has never been challenged since its passage in 1970? I could be wrong but at least one or two people who know more about con law than I do have confirmed this. It really does seem like a case of congress saying "we don't have any authority to do this, but we just don't like drugs so we're doing it anyway."

A ruling in favor of legalized marijuana could have significant ramifications but I don't think it would mean instant amnesty for felons convicted of pot-related charges yet, since a lot of drug trafficking could easily be considered interstate commerce and thus subject to federal restrictions, even with the more limited ones that you've outlined.