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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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So when will prohibition work?
#7578460 - 10/30/07 09:18 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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So when will prohibition work? By Dan Linn, Executive Director, Illinois NORML October 30, 2007 - dailyherald.com
Seventy years after the federal government decided to make it a crime to grow or possess marijuana, its use is still prevalent, and the industry literally growing.
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was just four years after the passage of the 21st amendment repealing alcohol prohibition, which lasted only 13 years but was marked by violence, organized crime and an unregulated product that was still highly consumed.
Marijuana prohibition has lasted 70 years, and although some people might not agree, it should be repealed as well.
Currently the marijuana market is unregulated, untaxed and controlled by organized crime.
So why did it take only 13 years for the government to realize it made a bad choice by outlawing alcohol, but it continues to feel that prohibition is the right approach for marijuana?
After all there are still dry counties and towns in America where the residents feel that alcohol should still be banned, and if marijuana prohibition were repealed there would likely be counties and towns outlawing marijuana. A recent study by Jon Gettman Ph.D. "Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws," estimates that marijuana in the U.S. is a $113 billion industry annually and that American taxpayers are losing a total of $41 billion toward enforcement of marijuana laws and lost potential tax revenue.
Currently those who use marijuana are criminals even if they do it in the privacy of their own homes and grow it themselves.
This is simply outrageous in a country that prides itself on freedom and liberty.
If marijuana were treated like alcohol, with driving and age restrictions along with a regulated industry to purchase this highly consumed product, then the American people would benefit in the long run.
Most high school children claim that it is easier to buy marijuana than it is alcohol; this should lead one to believe that making marijuana sales similar to alcohol would make it harder for children to acquire this substance, but for some reason supporters of marijuana prohibition just can seem to see through smoke.
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wps
Well-PaidScientist


Registered: 09/22/07
Posts: 579
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Re: So when will prohibition work? [Re: veggie]
#7579640 - 10/31/07 07:35 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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When I was in high school it as easier to score a bag of weed than it was to get a pack of cigarettes.
-------------------- "America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve." - Tom Morello
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searchalx
Psychonaut



Registered: 05/10/07
Posts: 210
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Re: So when will prohibition work? [Re: wps]
#7580372 - 10/31/07 11:41 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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even if marijuana is sold legally and regulated, kids will still get their hands on it, people will still sell pot illegally, and this would make the sellers target kids more dramatically
-------------------- SITUATION NASTY LIKE COLLEGE CHICKS - A
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger



Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 12 days
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Re: So when will prohibition work? [Re: searchalx]
#7580559 - 10/31/07 12:24 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
searchalx said: even if marijuana is sold legally and regulated, kids will still get their hands on it, people will still sell pot illegally, and this would make the sellers target kids more dramatically

Just like the gangstas busting into schools to sell kids cigarettes, right?
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Visionary Tools



Registered: 06/23/07
Posts: 7,953
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
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Re: So when will prohibition work? [Re: fireworks_god]
#7580920 - 10/31/07 02:06 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Prohibition stopped individuals that the government couldn't tax from producing, and when prohibition ended, distilleries and breweries that were fed friendly came into place.
But bud? That's harder to tax, it's easy to grow (unless you want super duper yields, or want to grow cannabis cup winners) so anyone can do it. But booze takes skill and organisation that the government notices.
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