# Will marijuana be legalized this fall? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 1, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429 "2012-10-01T22:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/41 "2012-10-08T22:44:22Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > South Carolina tried to nullify the parts that said you had to remain in the Union, and that certainly failed. Point being, the Federal government always wins when push comes to shove, so, in order to preserve its own political best interests, the Federal government had better make _sure_ it _never_ comes to shove. There is no “parts that said you had to remain in the Union”. They were attempting to secede, an act that you may consider illegal, but it doesn’t have anything to do with nullification. As I mentioned nullification was specifically mentioned by SC as a reason they were seceding. Nullification was only used to compromise slavery, not to strengthen it. The federal government didn’t win with alcohol prohibition. Why would this be different? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/42 "2012-10-08T22:49:36Z")
I doubt we will see legalization in less than 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/43 "2012-10-08T23:01:04Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [The Supreme Court has held that the Commerce Clause enables Congress to ban marijuana.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzales_v._Raich) That doesn’t answer a single one of my questions, but thanks. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/44 "2012-10-08T23:41:42Z")
Look, if a decrim intitiative [can’t pass in California](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_19_(2010)) of all states, where can it pass?! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/45 "2012-10-09T00:39:53Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > I’m with you here but, honestly, I think there are a lot of people interested in keeping current profit margins. They can grease a lot of palms to keep it that way. True, but in the long run they’re going to need to transition to a product that doesn’t necessarily kill people in large percentages if they want to keep the profit margin going. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/46 "2012-10-09T02:44:11Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > The federal government didn’t win with alcohol prohibition. Why would this be different? Prohibition didn’t end because Colorado passed a “medical booze’” law, it ended because of the Twenty-First Amendment. For marijuana to become legal, it would similarly require an act of Congress to amend the Controlled Substances Act. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/47 "2012-10-15T21:23:08Z")
The Denver Post editorial on Amendment 64 came out today. > [@](#): > > We believe possession and use of marijuana should be legal. That may seem like an odd way to begin an editorial urging a negative vote on Amendment 64, the pot-legalization measure, but we don’t want anyone to misunderstand the nature of our opposition. Read more: Editorial: Amendment 64 is the wrong way to legalize marijuana - The Denver Post [Editorial: Amendment 64 is the wrong way to legalize marijuana – The Denver Post](http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_21760094/editorial-amendment-64-is-wrong-way-legalize-marijuana#ixzz29PAiGPng) They support legalization but don’t think a constitutional amendment is the way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/48 "2012-10-15T23:40:47Z")
Sensible Washington, the main pro-legalization group in WA, has also come out against our referendum. > **[Sensible Washington: Here's Why We Oppose I-502 'Legalization' | Toke of the...](https://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/10/sensible_washington_heres_why_we_oppose_i-502_lega.php/)** > > Our opposition to Initiative 502 was not a decision made in haste. We came to a clear conclusion: Initiative 502 is not a positive step forward for our state, and we can do better. In essence, 90% of marijuana arrests occur at traffic stops, so the possession arrests will simply become DUI arrests instead and nothing will change. I-502 is a smokescreen, not real reform. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/49 "2012-10-16T01:11:34Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Prohibition didn’t end because Colorado passed a “medical booze’” law, it ended because of the Twenty-First Amendment. > > For marijuana to become legal, it would similarly require an act of Congress to amend the Controlled Substances Act. It ended because it wasn’t enforceable. The fact that many states refused to provide funds to enforce the prohibition contributed to its collapse. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/50 "2012-10-16T14:16:22Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It’s effectively legal in CA, and (IIRC) actually legal in Alaska. But keep in mind that it’s still a federal crime in every state. I was watching _Alaska State Troopers_ one day, and a woman was arrested with marijuana. She said she thought it was legal in Alaska. The trooper said that that’s something a lot of people believe. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/51 "2012-10-16T18:55:57Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > No it’s not legal and I’m not just picking nits. If it were legal anywhere in the US or in the Netherlands, Philip Morris would enter the business and the price would crash to that of hay. Hemp _is_ a weed after all. I have been hearing this little “factoid” for decades, always by people that don’t even begin to have the inking of a clue. I assure you that Philip Morris isn’t going to get into the marijuana business, precisely because it is a weed. Given that it’s a weed, anyone can do it. Tobacco growing is hard, marijuana is easy. Philip Morris isn’t growing fennel and they aren’t going to start with pot. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/52 "2012-10-16T22:58:56Z")
I wish all drugs were legalized, licensed, taxed and the the addictive ones were prescribed only along with treatment programs. I am tired of sending good tax dollars south in the War on Drugs and spending money into criminal hands. Didn’t we learn anything from 1919-1933? An observation (perhaps showing the weak basis of medical marijuana) - several times a week I drive up and down US99 in Seattle. Yesterday, I counted 7 “Green Medicine” dispensaries in a 3 mile stretch of road. This same stretch of highway has long been posted for prostitution and drug activity, has a high concentration of run down motels and is where Seattle has located new subsidized housing. Is Green Medicine preying on the less advantaged? Why don’t we see dispensaries in suburban strip malls and near medical centers? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/53 "2012-10-16T23:04:29Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > I wish all drugs were legalized, licensed, taxed and the the addictive ones were prescribed only along with treatment programs. I am tired of sending good tax dollars south in the War on Drugs and spending money into criminal hands. > > Didn’t we learn anything from 1919-1933? > > An observation (perhaps showing the weak basis of medical marijuana) - several times a week I drive up and down US99 in Seattle. Yesterday, I counted 7 “Green Medicine” dispensaries in a 3 mile stretch of road. > > This same stretch of highway has long been posted for prostitution and drug activity, has a high concentration of run down motels and is where Seattle has located new subsidized housing. > > Is Green Medicine preying on the less advantaged? Why don’t we see dispensaries in suburban strip malls and near medical centers? Zoning laws. You can’t be within 1000 feet of a school, etc., etc. Also, many landlords won’t rent to a dispensary for fear that their other tenants won’t like it and leave. It’s the same everywhere medical marijuana is legal. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/54 "2012-10-16T23:11:44Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Zoning laws. You can’t be within 1000 feet of a school, etc., etc. Also, many landlords won’t rent to a dispensary for fear that their other tenants won’t like it and leave. It’s the same everywhere medical marijuana is legal. In Denver and some of the larger ski resort towns, there are a few dispensaries located in very upscale, high-rent areas, although in general your point stands… ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/55 "2012-10-16T23:40:04Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I have been hearing this little “factoid” for decades, always by people that don’t even begin to have the inking of a clue. I assure you that Philip Morris isn’t going to get into the marijuana business, precisely because it is a weed. Given that it’s a weed, anyone can do it. Tobacco growing is hard, marijuana is easy. Philip Morris isn’t growing fennel and they aren’t going to start with pot. A “weed” is a plant growing where it is unwanted or considered undesirable. Corn stalks in the middle of a soybean field are “weeds”. Because it’s called weed by some people doesn’t make it a weed. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/56 "2012-10-16T23:51:22Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > A “weed” is a plant growing where it is unwanted or considered undesirable. Corn stalks in the middle of a soybean field are “weeds”. > > Because it’s called weed by some people doesn’t make it a weed. You’re correct, of course, but I was making a different point. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/57 "2012-10-16T23:58:12Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Zoning laws. You can’t be within 1000 feet of a school, etc., etc. Also, many landlords won’t rent to a dispensary for fear that their other tenants won’t like it and leave. It’s the same everywhere medical marijuana is legal. How many medical marijuana clients are legitimately in medical need, in your best guess, as opposed to people with easygoing doctors who want to get high? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/58 "2012-10-17T02:51:37Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > How many medical marijuana clients are legitimately in medical need, in your best guess, as opposed to people with easygoing doctors who want to get high? It’s impossible to say for sure and a lot depends on how medical need is defined. Is lowering stress at the end of the day (like some would have a glass of wine) a medical need? Full disclosure: I am a very occasional smoker who is for full legalization. I estimate, very generously, that 10% have a real medical need. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/59 "2012-10-17T03:10:21Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > How many medical marijuana clients are legitimately in medical need, in your best guess, as opposed to people with easygoing doctors who want to get high? Most of them. Edit: Most of them just want to get high. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429/60 "2012-10-17T04:40:25Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > In Denver and some of the larger ski resort towns, there are a few dispensaries located in very upscale, high-rent areas, although in general your point stands… Actually in Denver they seem to be everywhere. I’m in a decidedly suburban area. And my closest strip mall with a Kroger grocery store, and a McDonalds has a marijuana dispensary in it. It is about as mainstream here as you are likely to see in the states. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-marijuana-be-legalized-this-fall/636429.md?page=4)