Marijuana is illegal because most of the voters do not like the kind of people who enjoy it. They’re not afraid they will ruin their health. They’re afraid they’ll enjoy themselves.
Fun, awesome animation (if a little… whimsical) somebody made about ending marijuana prohibition.
Maybe not the most realistic take on things but it’s a really well done little piece and I thought I’d share.
Thanks; I enjoyed that quite a lot. Great art, good animation and a good little story there too. I thought they accomplished their goal, although in a decidedly preaching-to-the-choir kind of way.
It would have been a lot better if they had made any sort of argument at all, rather than just bare assertion.
Absent meaningful campaign finance reform and acknowledgment that corporations are not people, I oppose Prop 19. Large scale industrial cultivation of marijuana implies large scale industrial lobbying for the same. Then again the Feds will probably step in anyway.
Interestingly, the Oakland City council is working on the approval of large-scale weed production facilities for medical marijuana. They want to tax it. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=11192105
Never thought of that…where are the dispensaries getting their MJ?
According to this relatively detailed article from Cecily Burt of the Oakland Tribune, state law currently “allows medical marijuana cultivation by collectives of patients and caregivers, with no profiteering,” whatever that means.
Pros for a cash-strapped city:
One indoor facility could create 300-400 jobs (probably a cooked estimate) and $3 million of tax revenue.
Cons:
The MJ price would collapse with legalization. Dealers from other states would swarm in, taking advantage of the price differential. The Feds would notice even before this happens. Industrial facilities would be a tempting target.
The article has a table of local ballot initiatives proposing 2.5-10% tax rates on marijuana (lower rates for medical, higher for recreational). If the state is smart, they’ll boost taxes as high as they can to choke the illegal export trade, or at least give a more discrete profile.
ETA:
More pros:
"Legalisation might bring state and federal governments about $7 billion annually in additional tax revenue, while saving them $13.5 billion in law enforcement costs, Jeffrey Miron, the Harvard economist, estimates. " The Times & The Sunday Times: breaking news & today's latest headlines
The increased sales of Doritos and visine alone could make this worthwhile.
Even if the Feds do enforce it, ordinary citizens will still be able to smoke MJ without much worry. Can you imagine the federal district courts taking over the state courts docket for individual marijuana possession? That’s just not going to happen.
If this law passes there will be less state regulations for opening a clinic so there will probably be a lot more clinics. Plus a corporation with a lot of money can set up small stores in the state and simply accept a couple of raids as the cost of doing business.
Like in Alaska?
Just askin’.
Since yesterday, it’s even less of a worry. If you’re caught with less than an ounce, it’s an infraction, like littering or a parking ticket.
However,
The federal law hasn’t changed, so it’s still the same problem as before. But I still don’t think the feds are going to waste their time policing marijuana possession.
They won’t. If anything, they’ll go after the cultivators and the dispensaries.
And the federal “problem” for casual possession is minimal. As you say, even “ordinary citizens” could use marijuana with much worry a few days ago. Now, they won’t have to report incidents with local police on future job applications for state violations of less than an ounce.
I think you may have found a belief you have in common with most people here on the SDMB.