The Economics of Marijuana Reform

Nothing I can say, can be better said than these individuals. They have 'spoken for me'

"Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." - Abraham Lincoln (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany)

"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country."
- Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President

"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere."
- George Washington, U.S. President

"We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption."
- John Adams, U.S. President

"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marihuana." - Jimmy Carter, U.S. President

"I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama, U.S. President

"The war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our nation's marijuana laws." -Barack Obama, January 2004

"The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world." - Carl Sagan, renown scientist, astronomer, astrochemist, author and TV host

"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford, whose first Model-T was constructed from hemp fibers and built to run on hemp gasoline

"Prohibition... goes beyond the bound of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded" -Abraham Lincoln

"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." - Albert Einstein quote on Hemp

If you want to smoke it, do so. If you don't, well shit, don't. Cannabis will always be here, like it or not.

The real truth about the matter of marijuana now and has been throughout history is it's image, the way people look at it and view it. The only way this can be changed is to change the way people interpret this "plant" and that's through education. For example-alcohol many, many cultures of the world drink it, with or without their children being present then when little "bobby" questions this they simply inform little bobby about it in their own way. Finally ever seen those "Drink Responsibly" commercials? why not try the same approach with marijuana? why not show a person's car being smashed or their keys taken away by a buddy as in many humorous ads coming out of a marijuana collective instead of a bar or house party? The best way to introduce to the public about cannabis is to do it in an educated, responsible manner which the media has the much power to do so. Remember moderation and balance is key and universal.

I am realizing more, and more about the medicinal values of marijuana, mostly beneficial. I have been somewhat of an experienced smoker or in other words recreational user for a long while now, without and type of serious side effects. Cannabis, in my opinion, is a whole lot safer than what my daughter has been prescribed for anxiety/depression by the so-called medical professionals. Just a few nights ago my daughter had a frkn seizure for the first time in her life, and she is already 17 years old. (Not epileptic) The reasons for her problems and the need for medication are complicated, but revolve around a divorce and the breakdown of family values, and would take a very long time to explain, but that is beside the point. My point is, is when she was taken by paramedic to the emergency room, the physician would not accurately diagnose her. When the nurse was told what kind of medicine she was on, she instantly decided it was the lack of xanax. It was two days without the shit, when I heard the sound of her hitting the floor from downstairs in the basement. My Mom yelled like I had never heard before. I went running as fast as I could, when I saw her flopping with her body completely contracted, eyes rolling in the back of the head and her lips turning blue, all I could think of was to try to help her breath. I knew exactly that she was having a seizure and that there would not be much I could do for her, but I wanted to do something and fast. I attempted a couple of rescue breaths and realized she was breathing and that cover her mouth would only obstruct it even more than what the seizure was causing. All I could do was set in the floor stretched over her, holding her hand and telling her the ambulance was on its way. It only lasted about 3 or 4 minutes when she started to come out of it. She had no idea what had happened and was very incoherent until she received a dose of xanax in the emergency room. When the doctor came in and avoided the subject of xanax, or the fact that it was a seizure that she had, I wondered what was really a matter; but the doctor said she was alright to go home. Before she was released, while in the emergency room, the nurse stated that, if they would have said she had a seizure that they would have been obligated to notify the DMV and her driver's license would be suspended for 6 months. You should have seen the look on my face, why, I said would this be a problem. I do not want my daughter driving if there is any chance she would kill someone or herself. Well, yeah says the damn nurse, and starts rattling about something else. It certainly seems to be a intentional and blatant cover-up of heavily prescribed medications and their side affects. There are some serious adverse affects of the pharmaceutical industry as we all know, and now I have experienced them first hand. As, I would definitely agree with you about the dangers concerning the pulmonary effects of smoking marijuana, the fact that the federal government has taken this long, to do, what it hasn’t done, would make it entirely appropriate to initiate state powers over a non-functioning federal level.
Force legalization state-by-state through the common sense of the people! Piss on the federal government! Just like Mexico has legalized certain amounts of soft and hard drugs for personal use, and the millions of people crossing the border every year; how will they stop that?

Legalization is a far more complicated issue than most people realize. If we legalize in CA, but nowhere else, it will create a massive black market of illegal exports, forcing intervention by the federal gov't. Yes we can tax it, yes it's safer than many of its already legal alternatives, but legalization on a state-by-state basis will simply NOT work.

What we need is an upgraded system of medical regulation on a federal level. To do this, standards must be developed. This would take years, hundreds of studies, and massive ammounts of money. I'm not saying it wouldn't be worthwhile, but that just passing one law in one state isn't what we need. It's time to take pot from a C.1 controlled substance, to C.4 or C.5

Not everyone should use marijuana either. I've seen friends with mild psych. issues start to have SEVERE chronic mental problems after using pot, even if only a few times. While this is rare, it should be noted, considered, and observed on a scientific basis. Marijuana's C.1 status has prevented studies like this for many years.

In order to implement marijuana as medicine, more effective delivery systems must be developed. I've been prescribed pot for over ten years, and I have NEVER been told that smoking was GOOD for my health (though it may not be as bad as some say). I can guarantee that the FDA will never allow a route of administration as unhealthy as smoking. We need science to give us aerosols, skin patches, pills and injectable forms of the drug THC. Only when we know enough to do this will it be prudent to legalize smokable pot.

Hopefully one day, science will learn what some of us already know: For most people, marijuana is an irreplaceable medicine and a wonderful way to relax.