Note to Whitehouse.gov about Marijuana legalization

[Dan.Linehan]

I was perturbed by Obama's dismissal of the drug war questions asked on his town hall site yesterday. Today I sent this message via the White House contact form:

I am enraged at the dismissive way Obama handled the marijuana question in Thursday's town hall.

It started with a lie. There was not just "one question" asked about the drug war, nor about marijuana. There were more than a dozen top questions posted about legalization, decriminalization, hemp, the war on drugs in general, the prison population, the expense of it all.

Any one of these questions, which obviously represent an important issue to millions of Americans who are getting RIPPED OFF by the war on drugs, could have been the start of a discussion on decriminalization or on drug policy reform in general. Instead we got a completely dismissive response, advocacy towards continuing the government's war on it's own people, a continuation of the jailing of more citizens than any other country.

I guess we're all just bad people here in the US. That must be it, since we incarcerate so many citizens, more than any other country.

This meeting displayed an abject lack of both common sense and respect for intelligent policy making. The drug war is prohibitively expensive, prohibitively ineffective, and will continue to disenfranchise millions of Americans. Keep laughing it off and a once great nation will crumble around you as more and more working class Americans' lose faith in the government, the police, and the idea of respectable law and order. All under the guise of "protecting them". Thanks but no thanks.

You want to protect people from themselves by throwing them in jail? Doesn't seem like a very intelligent methodology, does it.

Prohibition does not work. It never has worked. It's failed policy. It's easy enough for anyone who isn't a politician to see, as was aptly illustrated by the dozens of questions on your town hall page.

But it was obvious you didn't really want to answer the people's questions about the war on drugs. The town hall site was simply a vehicle to be used to launch other, pre-determined talking points, not to spark any kind of real two way dialogue.

... And I used to wonder why people don't trust the government. If we can't trust Obama to even begin a dialogue on the WAR being waged on America's own citizenry, what can we expect? More jailed Americans? Billions of lost dollars spent solely to harm people more, instead of being spent on harm reduction? Brilliant.

If anyone else wants to contact the form is here. Or you can read more about the town hall meeting here.

[Infinite Knowledge]

Tell me about it.

I just spent my Friday night in New York City's Central Bookings thanks to this failed policy. It's ridiculous.

I get "ran up on" by undercover narcotics officers in an unmarked Crown Victoria - they literally drove the car over the sidewalk to block my path.

That's right.

They drove from the street onto the sidewalk, where kids where playing, simply to arrest me, a hemp user in possession of a gram of the god-given plant.

He really could have hurt those kids.

The narcotics officer who did this knows me because he has arrested me before (they really pick on you, these New York cops, they), and I was actually about 10 steps from my home. I'm convinced he risked hurting these children simply because he knew once I saw him and had I had a clear path (which I did), I would have easily ran in my apartment building and closed the door behind me.

Then I could safely escape to my apartment - no harm done.

He's very familiar with me, this cop. And he definitely knew where I lived because he did my paperwork last time he arrested me. Also, I was arrested about 3 city blocks from where the "illegal" transaction took place. He had plenty of time to stop me.

I guess he didn't realize it was me till he got up close, then put two and two together and figured out I was steps from heading into my building - So he pulls a last minute maneuver to block my path, and he does so successfully.

They then drove me to a nearby location where their patty wagon was located. There, I was forced to sit and wait patiently for about 2 to 3 hours with other fellow hemp users, until more (hemp users) were apprehended and bought to the patty wagon. This was done till there wasn't any room left on the patty wagon.

This waiting period also slows down the processing of your papers, since officers are still out in the field rather than at the precinct filling out the paperwork.

I get tickets and have court appearances all the time because of my hemp usage. I'm used to it by now. I could do 24 hrs in the Central Bookings system consecutively for 1,000 years and have no problem. They will eventually have to give up . . . because I WON'T.

Every time I've been arrested, they almost never arrest the dealer. It's always the citizen who simply wants to enjoy a little bit of the high-life in these economic turmoils.

In fact, they admit their sting operations are focused on apprehending users only and not the criminals that distribute the substance illegally.

I've already written my Congressmen, Senators, and even President Obama himself.

[vMike]

Why do you want marijuana legalized? It is a drug after all, a pretty dangerous one

[Lil Chris]

Originally Posted by vMike

Why do you want marijuana legalized? It is a drug after all, a pretty dangerous one

The reasons for legalizing Marijuana are many (it was once very legal in the U.S.), as far as it being dangerous, that's just not correct...

[Lil Chris]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

I was perturbed by Obama's dismissal of the drug war questions asked on his town hall site yesterday.

I was also very disappointed in the way he was so dismissive about it.

If anyone else wants to contact the form is here. Or you can read more about the town hall meeting here.

Thanks for these links

[Lil Chris]

Originally Posted by Infinite Knowledge

Every time I've been arrested, they almost never arrest the dealer. It's always the citizen who simply wants to enjoy a little bit of the high-life in these economic turmoils.

In fact, they admit their sting operations are focused on apprehending users only and not the criminals that distribute the substance illegally.

Money, Money... Dollar bill Y'all...

Look into the privatization of prisons to find an answer.

[Infinite Knowledge]

Originally Posted by vMike

Why do you want marijuana legalized? It is a drug after all, a pretty dangerous one

You've been misled my good friend.

Myths and Facts About Marijuana

[David Cain]

Originally Posted by vMike

Why do you want marijuana legalized? It is a drug after all, a pretty dangerous one

Hah

[MidasGirl]

Another one of those areas where we show our absolute genius. Throwing people in jail because of weed. This is why I feel no sympathy for states when they complain that the prisons are too full. Well, what do you expect? The real criminals are running around the streets cuz our resources are too busy trying to save people from themselves.

[funchy]

Originally Posted by Lil Chris

The reasons for legalizing Marijuana are many (it was once very legal in the U.S.), as far as it being dangerous, that's just not correct...

Heroine was once legal in the US. Cocaine was also legal, so common it was put in soft drinks. Why is pot "safe" but LSD or dust not? THC, the active ingredient in pot, is a hallucinogen.

I've seen young people waste their lives stoned, dropping out of school and losing touch with friends. To say it doesn't hurt people isn't completely true.

That being said, I'm not sure locking up the casual pot user who has one doobie on him really accomplishes much. Maybe if we switched over to fines instead of jail time? Take away their munchies money.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Obama is one of them. It's obvious. He's changed his mind on almost everything he said he's going to do. He's not going to legalize marijuana. It's just another way to keep the ordinary citizen down. To criminalize a plant is like saying God made a mistake. Or nature. If it grows out of the ground, how can it be illegal? I don't think it will be legalized until we get someone in the White House that smokes marijuana regularly.

I've never smoked marijuana for the record, but I can see it has real potential as a potent medicine, especially for pain. It's a lot safer than oxycontin. I think it's because the prisons have become work camps, where any company can get cheap labor. The DMV uses them on a regular basis. I fear that soon enough, the majority of the population will be in prison, in labor camps, making stupid trinkets for the elites.

[Lauxa]

Originally Posted by funchy

I've seen young people waste their lives stoned, dropping out of school and losing touch with friends. To say it doesn't hurt people isn't completely true.

How can you judge whether or not another person is wasting their lives? Maybe you are wasting your own life (or have been in the past) and projecting this onto others.

[Brutha]

It's just another way to keep the ordinary citizen down.

In polls more 'ordinary citizens' say that it shouldn't be legalized than say that it should be legalized.

Respecting the 'will of the people' would mean to continue having it illegal.

Obama is one of them. It's obvious. He's changed his mind on almost everything he said he's going to do. He's not going to legalize marijuana.

He didn't said that he would legalize it.

In addition you overrate the power of a president in those things. A president doesn't decide everything in a top down way.

But it fortunately becomes more of a mainstream position, the economist is for example for drug legalization:
http://www.economist.com/research/ar...ry_id=13237193

[Andrew Brunelle]

We're becoming what is known as a police state. Pretty soon, there will be a large percentage of the population inprisoned. It's only a matter of time with the tighter the grip our government is having over us every day. Why is it that only taxed drugs are legal? It's a good thing they tax alcohol, so now we have those great roads we can go get ****ed up and drive on.

Marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, and yet it is still illegal. It's a plant, for God's sake. A plant. Are you saying God made a mistake? It's not like it's something made out of drain cleaner and cough syrup. It's a natural plant and making a plant illegal is just ****ing stupid.

I never really understood why some rappers would make songs like, "**** the Police," but now I have an idea why. Because they are people who are drunk on power to the extent that they do anything to show their superiority when it comes to power. There's a story I heard about my second or third cousin's daughter being arrested because she was pulled over for drunk driving and breathed into that breathalyzer and it didn't work, so the cop told her to do it again and she said no. So she was thrown in jail. I feel like the police have way too much power and the prisons are already crowded enough. Marijuana is not that bad. It's definitely better than alcohol, so why not tax it, too? They could balance the stupid ****ing budget.

So I say, "Legalize it, don't criticize it. Legalize it, yeah, and I will advertise it."

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Marijuana is not that bad. It's definitely better than alcohol, so why not tax it, too?

Oddly enough, many states that declare it illegal actually require that people possessing marijuana purchase a tax stamp (even though doing so affords no legal protection), and if they're found in possession of it without such a stamp the punishment can be even greater.

State Tax Stamp Data - NORML

[Asmoday]

The thing is, we all know the downsides -- just like with smoking, alcohol, and of course, harder stuff. We all know X potentially causes chromosome damage, we all know all of it.

People HAVE to be allowed to make mistakes. If they don't know, its not a mistake, if they know, its just a choice they learn from. Or, they choose not to learn. Remove the choice, in the name of protection, and you're screwing everyone...

People will do things with a downside, legal or not.

In fact, making it illegal only increases that allure, and further, skyrockets the price, meaning, near-infinite supply -- its why there is a drug dealer in every neighborhood selling something -- the profit margins are rediculous.

And then, because dealers cannot turn to the courts to solve disputes, they must settle such things amongst themselves -- hence why there are guns and bullets trailing right behind the dealers.

Not to mention hookers and loverboys who have to support those expensive habits.

I say, acknowledge the facts -- this is a war that will never be won, and do the adult thing -- give up, tax it, make your own personal choices to refrain, and reap the benefit of others folly. Employers can already exercise options to drug test, so that's not an issue. Seriously, if someone's stoned out of their gourd and you don't know, then they must be doing something RIGHT. Hell, if you wanna be all compassionate about it, use part of the taxes for voluntary rehab centers. You'll get far better results in the war with that approach.

More importantly, though, stop this idea of legal paternalism. All you're doing is robbing people of their growth -- and in this stubborn defiance, causing a multitude of ripple effects that are the exact opposite of what you want.

Once upon a time, we had this idea called personal freedom.

As long as the person is not factually ignorant of the consequences of their choice, and the choice is not coerced or forced, and you can have them sign a form each and every time they purchase said substance for all I care -- then its just to let people do as they will.

Beyond even just, its just flat-out necessary.

Can we all just grow up and move on? This is literally one of those old views like racism that just sits there and stagnates and slowly turns our national consciousness into a meaningless, albeit well-intentioned, swampland.