George Will: US ‘probably in the process’ of legalizing marijuana

News Flash Mr. Will: The sacred herb has never, will never, needs never to be "legalized". I am a 4.0 law student. I have a 100% perfect legal mind, Having a degree in Psychology from the S.U. of N.Y., 1/72, and being a graduate of the Paralegal Institute 12/03. I am also a lifelong student of the Federal Constitution, and American History. There hasn't been a Documentary published by the History channel and VH1 that I haven't personaly eye witnessed. My point is there are 4 square reasons why M.J. per se cannot be Constitutionaly Criminalized. To wit: 1. Cannabis has been historicaly used as a religious sacrament by Christian, Bhuddist, Rastofarian et al religious followers. Being that the purpose for the 1st Amendment was positioned to be foremost, as the ACLU will vouch for, the People have an absolute right to be immune from any legal restiction on their free choice of religious practice, so long as it is peaceful, and doesn't constitute any demeanor regarded as criminal under the common law. 2. The 10th part of the Bill of Rights was specificaly intended to support anything that would enable the first 9 rights, and the purpose for the Preamble of the Constitution eg: provide for the domestic tranquility, the general welfare etc.., and the Declaration of Independence: to guarantee life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All the myriad of medical/health benefits produced by M.J. ingestion innoculating people from 90% of all known infectious & degenerative diseases confirms this. 3.THE most fundamental Constitutional right agreed on by all the Constitutional Convention,(even before George Mason & Thomas Jefferson withheld signing it unless & until all 13 States ratified the Bill of Rights) is specified as: "No Government agent shall impair the obligation of a contract". In colonial America Cannabis/Hemp was commonly used for many, many purposes in a barter system to save Copper, Silver, Gold money. So the common law conditions for what constituted a legal contract were simpler than today. Because money was spent on things which Cannabis/Hemp could not substitute for, this common law right was designed to be also the most important Constitutional right. 4. A Statute enacted by any Soverign Government , in it's Criminal Code, would have to have the element of "mens rea" in it. Noone can accidental commit a real crime.No matter how Stateist any Statute is it has to conform to minimal legal standards which can be justified. A Cannabis dealer may be a criminal if he violates the common law standards of Fraud, Larceny,Trespass,Mayhem,Murder etc, in the course of the private Constitutionaly legal contracts he makes with his clients...But the act of transacting itself is Constitutionaly protected by the Historical facts of how Cannabis/Hemp was routinely & commonly used from 1607-1937. Both the facts & the law support my assertions. Thus, since Cannabis cannot be Constitutionaly criminalized per se, the Statutes prohibiting its possession & use are per se Constitutionaly unlawful. Hence since these unConstitutional Statutes are unlawful, THEY result in crime, not the possession & use of Cannabis. Were the Constitution not subverted under people's ignorant noses for the past 72 years, there would not now be any need to restore the legality of a substance which was illigal to criminalize in the first place. You are welcome to have a differing opinion. But the facts, History, the Law, and pure logic speak for themselves. Please understand that the Truth needs no apology for not appearing to be humble enough. And, by the way, don't you suspect foul play surrounding the 1937 Prohibition when the American Medical Association vociferiously objected to "criminalising" a legitimate medicine ? And, considering that Prohibition of Alchohol reulted in widespread corruption of public officials on every level, Mayhem & Murder en masse, don't you consider it strange they'd be so quick to repeat it without being both bribed & blackmailed ???

Lets just legalize it already

This isn't aboot money,
This isn't aboot cops,
This is aboot freedom and human rights!
and it's aboot bloody time!

Naw but seriously this is happening so fast that I am getting giddy on the inside, everybody who cares for marijuana legalization send a letter and give a call to your local congressman and representative's!

I may live to see this yet.

as soon as they are done figuring out the way for them and their friends (big corporations) to be the only ones to make money off it, they will make it legal

to begin with, marijuana is no where near of a destructive drug as alcohol is. the violence attached to it is something brought about by its illegalization, so gangs and cartels have claimed this illegal substance as their means to money.

second, marijuana is a plant. it shouldn't even be illegal to grow the stuff. it's found in nature for the love of god!!! it's not even like its a processed material which only people can make or even a plant that can be made into a worse drug (i.e. cocaine).

The problems i see with legalizing it are:
a.) drug companies start experimenting with it in order to build a larger profit margin
b.) drug companies experiment to make a deadlier product than what marijuana was intended for (ie.cocaine)
c.) government regulation. . .at what point did we (the people of the US) think/say it is ok for the government to regulate the growth of a plant. that's like them telling me how much rosemary or basil i can grow in my garden. talk about a skewed perspective.

as much as i would love marijuana to be legalized there are still ALOT of concerns as to what degree the government would like to profit off a natural plant that we once considered a necessary crop. . .right next to cotton.

It feels good to see so many people on the same page about this issue. The benefits of legalization would be far reaching and widespread.

Holy crap is common sense creeping into the American consiousness?

!

Tax it from farm to product. Regulate it. And make eyedrops for people with glaucoma.

This would help famers with marginal land because it does not require the best midwest soil. And it is fiber for clothing.
It would really help the economy.

.

It's time to end the 'madness' and reclassify cannabis hemp and allow research and innovation to proceed. Cannabis hemp should never have been classified equal to heroin. That was an "Assault on Reason" and no one had the courage to challenge the powers that be.

It's time to stop allowing information to be hidden, or spun. Facts matter!

Will is a smart man regardless of what you think of his political views, so I wasn't surprised by this.

I had a one-hour debate with my mom on this same issue, and I told her exactly the same thing George Will said: we legalize marijuana, the drug cartels lose ALOT of money, and everyone's happy in the end. :D

As well, think about this: before legalization, admiting you had an addiction could land you in jail, and your previous providers of the plant didn't want you to get help (cause they were making money off your addiction), so getting out of a life where you were addicted to the stuff might have appeared to be impossible. However, after legalization, you can finally get some help without fear of getting a criminal record, AND people giving out the weed will (or should, at least) be able to notice that you have an addiction, and then refer you to a Marijuana Anonymous meeting or something like that to help you, not punish you.

My only concern would be, if it is legalized, who would manage that market? Because I would be alot more afraid of businesses and corporations handling weed than governments, simply because crime organizations could easily open businesses and fund their criminal activities legally, and don't even start with corporations...

I have a question, what happens to all of those who have been affected by the criminalization of marijuana. One situation comes to mind, in the way the workforce will handle the legalization. I was fired from a job for failing a drug test because I had THC in my urine....corp policy usually will not allow you to be hired in the future if this is in your record. How will situations like this be handled if they do pass a law to decriminalize marijuana? Any thoughts?

@ George Will

DUHHH

BUY LOCAL. :-D

I wish the whole country could just vote on the issue sometimes. I wonder what would happen.

I don't understand how the Mexicans can have a stranglehold on the weed market? Have you ever smoked Mexican weed? It sucks! The better weed is grown right here in the old US of A. I would rather go smokeless than smoke that dirtweed. Drug cartels from Mexico is not the reason pot should be legal. It should be legal cause it makes me feel good and I enjoy it, then all the other debates about legalizing fall in place behind the fact that I lke to get high. KEEP YOUR GOVT. HANDS OFF MY BUDS!!!!!!

"President Barack Obama's new policy which respects the states right to" (fill in the blank).

We shouldn't need a policy to respect states rights. But this is a step in the right direction.

The only way to win the "war on drugs" is to end it.

I don't do drugs. Haven't taken even an aspirin in years. Nothing against aspirin just haven't. I am 100% for the decriminalization of drugs.

It is a stupid assumption that the only people for legalizing Marijuana are druggies.

It is costing us Billions to fight this "other" idiotic war which has been going on for decades. Remember Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign on the War on Drugs ? I do. It was bullshit then and it continues now.

Legalize this crap, now. We'd cripple Colombian and Mexican drug cartels with surprising quickness which would be a boon for World Peace.

I also submit to you that the finest Marijuana would be grown right here in the U.S. of A, in places like North Carolina and sold by Winston, Marlboro, etc. The export market would be in the Trillions.

Lastly, the TAXES. Hmmm, let's see, can anyone think of anything that such taxes could be used for ... ?

And no, don't even start with the old, "but then everyone will be stoned." ... No. We wouldn't. Didn't happen after alcohol was legalized, won't happen now. Don't want it, don't need it, ain't doing it. But that's just me and it's a free country, or at least supposed to be, so wadayasay we stop making stupid laws in the first place.

If there were to be a serious effort to fight the increasingly violent, powerful Mexican drug cartels, "you'd legalize marijuana,".....

A good enough reason alone.

A moment of logic and reason!

Finally, a new crop we can export. Why should Afghanistan get all the cash?

THATS EXACTLY RIGHT ! they can have more money than the old WAR ON DRUGS gives them. and do nothing. cops can still be assholes to people. just not us stoned people.....go pick on a drunk

When ultra-conservatives like George Will start talking like this, we can started debating a realistic approach to Marijuana law reform. It looks like conservatives like making money more than they hate the "devil weed".

By stock in Green Air growing products.