California Legislature Passes Marijuana Decriminalization Bill

Let me simplify for u. If you take profit out of it no violence will go into it... leagalize and treat the addicts, simpler and lest costly. ( by addicts I mean REAL addicts, nowadays that mean the poison the legal drug dealers, big pharma, is pushing on us, not weed)

Here in colorado, it is very hard to find "illegal" weed. A huge number of Growers have resulted from the new laws here[prices are now 35$1/8th]. A lot of the people who sold cannabis "illegally" are now selling it legally.

I'd rather smoke all the time without the paranoia and get caught a few times and pay the fine, then smoke in paranoia with the chance of jail time.

lol

cause government can totally be trsusted to do it right. please.

sounds like someone is jealous of European healthcare (and current spelling) : )

ok so my spelling sucks, i know but this thing dont have spell check and im mildly lazy. I am jelous of European healthcare but I want government to stay out of pot. Just let that grow and develop as its own industry, tax the hell out of it though, our schools need help.

last i checked, marijuana is a drug and like all drugs (good or bad) it is illegal for a person to grow because it is DANGEROUS, the government must take care of this industry by running it completely.
sorry
if you have weird government issues take it to a tea party

Dude fuck the tea party, all of those bastards together couldnt muster the equvalent to my brain power. Thats not to say impartucularly inteligent they are just that dumb. (really I was only feeling mildy sarcastic) But I digress marijuana is not dangerous at all, if you tried to OD you would fail, cant do it if you got close enough you would just pass out, and not like OMG coma, but like dude that has to be the best nap I have ever had. So really no reason for the Government to be involved.

yeah! because drugs aren't connect to crime when unregulated, right? no one has died of drug crime, right? (sarcasm)
stop being a tool, and face the facts, marijuana is at it's safest (like any food or drug product) when the government is regulating or simply owning it all,
if you want see a place with no safety nets go to Somalia and live a libertarian wet dream

Look its just pot man. See that is the biggest part of the problem people are all like OMG the worlds coming crashing apart if pot is not controlled and taxed and monitored and arrrg pot bad. Really man take a breath and chill it’s just pot. Should there be rules around its sale and growth? Hell ya or next thing ya know they will be lacing the shit to make it addictive like tobacco, that being said, the big brother government doesn’t need to own the industry, it’s just not needed. Just make sure to keep the chemicals out and make an age limit like say 18, and you’ll be good to go. trust me the less regulation, the less drug crime. The only reason that there is drug crime with pot is because it is illegal, legalize the shit and the whole damn crime surrounding is gone. And that is the cash cow that really supports the organizations that smuggle heroin and cocaine ect ect. So really just mellow. Honestly look at alcohol they made that illegal and that is how we got organized crime in the first place, pot is just like alcohol except less dangerous.

wow.. very disappointed, healthcare couldn't be trusted to the market for a reason, "just pot man" isn't going to justify a rich white CEO using a drug to make billions off of poor black minorities, just like what would happen if healthcare where to go to the dogs on wall street. it's drug, and like all drugs it is better in government hands because they are the only ones to make sure it will go to the people who truly need it first, if you don't advocate it the sick getting their medication first before CEO's being able to buy their fifth luxury ship, you are either not a liberal or sorely misinformed.

You have my sympathy.

healthcare cant be trusted to the market because they keep running scams and monoplies. Rat bastards. And I am not talking about medical marijuana, im not talking about black minorites, a little rascist by the way to assume they will be the only one's buying pot. Im talking about pot sold over the counter like ciagrettes with regualtion to a point but for the most part people farm it, other people roll it, still more people move it about the contry and finaly its sold in your nearest smoke shop and conveinience store. Do not be deceided medical marijana is just step one to freeing pot completly. treat it like tylenol, or advil, just now ya smoke it, or eat it. Whatever floats your boat.

calling me racist because i made an example?... really pathetic
marijuana if let alone, like you suggest "is just pot" will fall to scams and monopolies that will harm poor, minorities and the sick.
i can only assume you really only care about yourself and smoking it cheaply and as unsafely as possible at the expense of cancer patients.

please leave me alone, i feel like i'm talking to tea bagger

resorting to personal insults tsk tsk, calling me a tea bagger. All im saying is that if it is completly government controlled then it will wind up just like the tax that was origionally designed to destroy it. conservatives will take power and say oh you can only possess government controlled pot, and then they wont make it. What is wrong with the way it is done in california and oregon and montana now, it is grown by private citizens and then sold to the stores at terribly low rates, then it is sold to the public, im just saying lets make it more open to more people.

you called me racist first, and i'm calling a spade a spade
conservatives don't take power and withhold healthcare from citizens in Europe, the government won't do it with Marijuana because government is just (look at courts)
the people that deserve will get it first, it's a safety net
markets are terrible things, we can't let marijuana be tainted by them
it's illegal for private citizens to grow other drugs and produce for several reasons
-it's not as safe
-they aren't unionized
-they steal food and money from people that need it
-it will attract criminals

it shouldn't be open to more people, it's people like you who stop cities from banning fast food and then we all wonder why we're so fat and unhealthy! people don't do good things unless regulated, let weed live and thrive with the public sector, not the private!

you know why the markets are terrible why let a great thing like marijuana and healthcare into they greedy, hatefulled, racist business owners control it all, bring democracy to weed!

i agree alcohol is dangerous to make. but marijuana? no. all you need is a seed, dirt, and water. that's it. put the seed in the dirt, water daily, and you have a delicious flower ready to be used. its not going to explode or poison you. it is just a plant.

what exactly is dangerous about marijuana? the only dangerous part is the cartels activity in supplying a product to a demand. if you allow people to grow their own right in their back yards what happens? no more smugglers! they're out of a job. the demand for the product is sated by the people themselves. they don't need a crime lord to bring it to them.

Hey people are not fat because fast food exists people are fat because they choose to buy it. Why should I be denied my double quater pounder with cheese and two fish sandwhichs that I spoil myself with once evey like 3 months. You buy fast food every day dont go bitching that you fat and its everbody else's fault eat a damn carrot stick. I think we will just have to agree to disagree on this I dont trust governent because well look at Katrina, the oil spill, getting a drivers lisence. Its just a bad idea, im not opposed to regulation im just saying government owned is not my idea of good buisness. It just feels to communist. And we all know communism was the best shot the world had at utopia on paper, but no enitiy can have that much responisibility and succeed.

"People cant make their own alcohol because its dangerous" LOL wtf man... are you serious? People cant drink alcohol because its dangerous. I had a co-worker who was a great guy die the other week because he was drinking and somehow fell and hit his head and died 6 days later. He left a wife and kid. Please pull up a statistic of Marijuana related deaths.. Thank you.

This is pretty common sense and California is going to have to continue leading this battle against marijuana. Older generations are unaware how much damage prohibition to marijuana is doing to the economy and the prison system in America. Not to mention missed revenues outside the borders. Its just a matter of time before its legalized as the newer generations are taking over and are more aware of how the legal and illegal systems work.

uh, you should be denied a fattening heart-attack burger because that cost is passed on to me through healthcare insurance dip-shit!
like universal healthcare, we all care about what each other eats and does so everyone will stay healthy, you really don't give a damn about people, do you?!
go fuck yourself and vote republican like i know you show want to do but since you care so deeply about yourself, you'll probably vote libertarian

cocaine is just a plant too, but ask the poor Chinese people what the rich white assholes in Britain did to them and i'll say it needed to be regulated and controlled

marijuana = drug
crime = drug smuggling, making, using

marijuana has caused several deaths through crime, it needs to be owned by the government to ensure safety like any other food product

that goes against the commerce clause for one thing,
there is no such thing as "market", "supply", and "demand"
these are buzz words created by neo-cons to trick people into thinking capitalism is the only system that works!
stop believing in them!!

and i never said people couldn't drink alcohol but they can't make their own, it steals jobs and money from professionals and unions

Actually Ill vote demacrat because im pro human rights. but you really think the government should have the right to control what we eat? Dude thats just flat out insane. Holy crap why are you coteing democrat you should be voting communist, or fascist whatever dicatorship you prefer, and I am perfectly healthy thank you very mcuh, I simply choose to eat that horrific food every once in a while because well we all have our vices, that happens to be one of mine. you want to live the life of a saint thats fine but dont go bringing your shit down on me I have the right to eat what I want for christ's sake. Good lord.

no such thing as supply and demand? really? you live in your own bubble. no use discussing anything with you.

Never!
i care about how people live, we need universal healthcare, we need social security, we need a safety net! and it's DINOs like you that stop Progress
People that are smoking, eating fast foods, and damaging their livers are forcing others to pay for idiocy through these public government programs.
you clearly only want to smoke pot for you're own goal like the fat-cats that created this finical crisis only wanted to more money for their luxury ships.

truly sad, you have my deepest sympathies

I guess you're another viticim of the Koch brothers, no use talking to you either

Who said I was against social security or universal healthcare, i fully support both. I dont even want to smoke pot, I dont currently smoke it. I did when I was a teenager, and I belevie that keeping it illgal is making crime, not preventing it. Im glad that you care how people live, but there is a line between caring and controling. Controlling peoples lives like this simply doesnt work government should not and does not have that right.

you said you for universal healthcare but what happens when a rich white guy gorges himself on fast foods and cigarettes and cost is subsidized by poor black people's taxes!
that isn't right and to fix this is to ban fast foods, cigarettes and regulate marijuana like the drug it is
why do you hate your fellow man? don't you want to see marijuana go to cancer stricken patients first, or is you stock portfolio to linked in with the Koch's
you are a democrat in name only

Since you have not responded I can only guess you have seceded the debate to me.

Thank you, I know I am a very convincing debater but it's only because I have done years of research.

Peace < 3

sorry i was driving and i oppose the use of cell phones while behind the wheel that shit is dangerous. I feel that there are other ways to encourage people to be healthy without banning the foods outright, if you force a people to be without their vces they will revolt progress must be allowed to happen naturally and over time. Can you not see the under burger kings, dea busts on underground taco stands. Its like a really bad movie about some tyranical future. There is no reason that there cannot be enough pot for cancer patients and anyone else, there is afterall now plenty for anyone who wants it. The key is to regulate it not take complete control of it but keep a close watch on it with strict codes and regulations both to prohibit gouging and tampering with the plant itself to make it more toxic. As far as my stock portifolio goes well it is a sad little affair that I abandoned after my little experiment in highschool and lets just say that if I had just cashed it in then i might have had some fun for a month or too maybe a nice vacation not enough money for much more, now if i cashed it in I could put gas in the car and maybe go out for dinner. A nice dinner not too nice but alright.

Uh, cocaine is not a plant. Cocaine is extracted from a plant using toxic chemicals. To say cocaine is a plant is just ignorant. It's not like you can go 8 ball picking.

Growing pot is pretty simple, it's easier than brewing alcohol. Look it up online. You buy plants, put them under a light, water them, wait a few months, and harvest the crops. Simple.

Watch the news, you see: DUI, bar fights, people doing stupid things drunk. Everyone knows that sometimes when you drink too much you because a bumbling, stumbling, idiot, who acts like a complete fool. I have done this a few times, and I am not proud. Marijuana doesn't cause crime. There is crime because marijuana is illegal. People don't run over innocent people while driving high, there are not fights when people get together to smoke, you are not reduced to a complete idiot when marijuana is involved. Legalize marijuana, and there is zero crime.

you still haven't answered my question, what happens when a rich white guy eats h fast foods and cigarettes and the cost is subsidized by poor black people's taxes?
how can fast food and cigarettes ever be healthy?!
we have to ban them so corruption doesn't happen in the healthcare system or else people like you who have heartattacks b/c you eat fastfood will be paid for by my taxes
ANSWER. MY. QUESTION.

you're right, it's just a plant that CEOs and corporations will use to withhold from cancer patients. you fucking idiot, we can't let it out in the free market

simple enough?! i don't think criminals are ever attracted to celery or carrots, they go to weed for a reason, the production of weed must be owned by the government so cancer patients and people that need it first get it

that's the biggest joke i've ever read, thanks for good lol, i laughed so hard

Like I said there are other ways to encourage health, smokers and the obease have to pay in more for the healthcare or pay a specific tax. Eveen those who dwell within a certain income bracked could be required to pay differently. Force is simply the wrong way to come at people and their vices, look where prohibition got us. When alcohol was outlawed outlaws became kings.

so... you suggest a fat tax?! how insensitive are you?!?! i'm really offended by that, its the corporations fault for adding addictive ingredients and we must ban fast-foods and cigarettes and make sure marijuana doesn't fall prey to the dogs that run the market,
you and other teabaggers may call universal healthcare a 'force' as well but it's because you all are afraid, it's mandator for a reason.

IS TAX NOT A FORCE?!

we don't have people driving cars without a licenses, we can't have people create drugs and smoke and eat shit without some interference for their own protection, you simply can't be a democrat, would you do away with drivers' licenses too?

really its the companys fault, because they put a gun to your head and said eat the cheeseburger? I was fat, still am a wee bit fat, well ok Im mildy obese, but I am on it, over the summer I have lost about 40 pounds, pretty proud of that. You know how I did it, diet and exercise. How is a tax force, its a way of saying look if you want to do this thats fine, but if you want to be part of our healthcare plan you will pay more. really you need to drop the tea bagger bit becasue I promise you most of the other democrats I know so far think that make fast food illigal is just plain ridiculous, and again I am pro universal healthcare. addictive, really you get the shakes if you dont eat your cheese burger, there may be other problems there becuase food addictions are not physical they are completly psychological. And I have said so many times in this little discussion that marijuana does need to be striclty regulated and monitered but complete government ownership is not the answer.

"its a way of saying look if you want to do this thats fine, but if you want to be part of our healthcare plan you will pay more"

yep, that's force, the person doesn't have a choice, does he?

if someone is smoking and eating shit and i have to pay for it! hell no! it's shit anyway ban it, and i know most democrats are on my side

government ownership is the only way marijuana will go to cancer-stricken patients and the poor first before fat-cats like you want it all to yourself or when CEOs poison it and force-feed it to blacks, the poor, and even children!

Yes the person does have a choice live a healthy life or pay more. I dont see anything wrong with that I do see something wrong with the philosophy of live a healthy life or what go to jail for eating a cheeseburger. I thin you have a bit a misguided view of what will happen to pot in the public sectors hands, is governtment really much more trust worthy? Puting pot in the hands of cancer patients is fine, but there are thousands of ways to grow and harvest in such mass quanitys that there is really no concern over who will get it and who wont. and I reall dont understand why you think it will be forcefed to anyone. but thats what you beleive obviously i cannot change your strangley misguided beleifs but it's right to beleive that, just dont run for office in my turf you will have a fight on your hands. I will fight any radical anywhere and banning food is just a little radical if you ask me.

NO, absolutely not, the person doesn't have a choice then if we are regulating and intervening in their lives, the logical conclusion is to simply ban fastfoods, cigarettes and leave marijuana to the government like we should healthcare.

you shouldn't claim you are pro-universal healthcare when you can't even answer how to cure the abuses of the system

you are too blinded by Koch, McDonalds and Leman Bros. to truly understand that the private sector is a horrible place, why would you want healthcare and marijuana to be subjected to it?!

Dude the people with cancer can grow all the weed they need

Wait, can you please enlighten me to why is was funny? And are you going through and voting up your comments and voting down any comments that arn't yours or that disagree with you?

and take jobs and pay away from unionized farmers that obey government health standards?! yeah, right, great plan *roll eyes*

hopefully the government doesnt make it addictive n harmful by adding chemicals to it tho. and knowing the gov they will probably do just that

Absolutely, glad someone sees it

exactly why it should be legalized

This wouldnt be a problem if we legalized it already. Whats the statistics on marijuana related deaths other than cartels killing each other? Last time I checked there are about 75,000 people who die every year from alcohol-related deaths. Do you see cartels selling alcohol?? NOPE.

Addictive? The only addictive thing about marijuana is eating, playing video games, and watching movies. Not the most productive life-style but most people want more in life and grow up. Just like how alcohol is everywhere when your young, you learn to use it in moderation when you have responsibilities. More teenagers die from alcohol than marijuana. Its common sense. God Im so tired of defending common sense. Meh, just looking at the minus's on peoples name is enough for me now. It kinda serves justice in the sense that less people agree with them.

You can still use the "search" function to find everything posted by a particular individual.
( There is no means of locating "recommends" though,...as far as I can tell. )

This must be a recent change, but enter 'hemp for industry'? They have definitely changed it. They have erased the past posts about 'hemp for industry'. Also try, 'cannabis for medicine'. It was a treasure trove of information. Now it's not! They are politically correct, but at what cost? I told my husband, as of tonight, I am through with current. Sad, sad, sad!

Correction: Yesterday I had problems locating past posts at current. I was 'sure' they had changed their site and eliminated all the cannabis hemps posts. I was 'sure' wrong.

Today, I am able to bring them up. I don't know what the problem was, but God am I relieved. I enjoy the dialog at current. Current is one of the most informative sites I have found. We are all free to contribute stories, or just participate in ongoing posts. It's a wonderful thing. It's kinda, my home away from home, in the privacy of my own home.

http://Current.com

Connipae, before you do anything rash, you should realize that your
mind & voice are a valuable resource here on Current.com. I realize
they've made alterations to their format, but the only change that, imho
would seem unquestionably unjust would be for any Journalistic organization
to not to archive past posted articles to promote research. It's possible I
missed something in reading your words. But, can't you simply still access
all previous posts attributed to the community member who posted them ?
I could understand if you found a website better than Current.com. But
people are always happier contributing in a community setting. I've been
reading the book " Deep Economy " by Bill McKibben. He describes that
people's health, longevity and overall life quality soars on sites like this
as they would at a farmers market vs a Walmart Superstore. I recall you
said it yourself in one telling comment that the Corporations have been
running this country into the ground by never restoring what they've extracted.
That's not depletion, that's Piracy. And you're right.

Ditto.

Presscore, you are correct. I was leaving in protest, when I thought they had eliminated previous posts. Hiding the treasure troves of information, which has been posted at current. I was wrong. They have not removed the past posts. Thank goodness.

I went for a day, just reading posts, not commenting. Even when I disagreed with comments, I remained silent. Current is what it is, due to participation. I was not going to participate if they did something as despicable as removing the rich history of posts at current.

I have not found a website better than Current.com. HuffingtonPost is an alternative, but they only allow comments. They do not allow people to post their own stories of interest. Current is unique in that sense and I appreciate it's uniqueness. I appreciate being able to share stories of interest, enabling a conversation with others who also share my interests.

Not a drug, its a plant. Calling it a drug just makes things like this harder

I know it's harmless and a plant but THC IS a drug, just like any other chemical that produces changes either for good or ill in a living animal. It is a beneficial drug, a supplementary drug, but don't try to distance yourself from the truth in hopes of changing how its viewed.

there are multiple legal drugs that have positive images but yet do more harm than marijuana has ever done to anyone

Please call it an herb, such as Ginger, Garlic, Gin Seng, Basil etc.
The unconscious associations with all terms that rhyme with that
choice are predominantly negative, and only close others' minds.
If you had to sleep on the idea of terms like bug, mug, pug, thug,
drug(past particple of drag), fug(short for obscenely ugly), smug...
Well you get the idea. The only word I can think of that comes up
positive is hug. But with all those phonetic rhymes countering it
into imbalance, somehow love doesn't come to the minds of those
inexperienced with it. They're the minds we need to open up to it, no ?

I own books on the history of substances in many countries throughout
history. Did you know that coffee and tobacco were once outlawed in
Persia(Iran) and England ? And that the penalty for possessing them
and using them was the same for Capital Offenses ? In Egypt, long long
ago the penalty for smoking Hashish was to have all one's teeth pulled out.
Social Justice, like evolution, is more often than not, a slow,painful process.

The problem is marijuana will be legal and every other drug will still be illegal. Magic mushrooms for instance, my drug of choice on the rare occasions I use a drug.

After weed is legal all the other drugs will be scrutinized even more. We should be demanding legalization of all drugs and not just 'settle' for marijuana.

It's like when blacks were demanding equality in the 1970s. The Gays started demanding equality too after the Blacks but the Blacks and the Gays didn't band together to demand equality because most of the black community and even the Black Panthers at first did not want equality for the gays. But eventually the Black Panthers went on to support the Gay Rights and Womens Rights movements because they realized their hypocrisy in only fighting for their own cause.

We must all stand together or we will all fall apart.

Damn right! I was just discussing this with my dad, that once we legalize pot we need to at least legalize Mushrooms, LSD and cocaine, all of which are far less harmful than alcohol and tobacco when used moderately. It would reduce child and teen usage and lower the crime rates world-wide.

marijuana's side effects are much much less worse than the side effects of shrooms or any other drug similar to that and they should be scrutinized even more. they extremely harmful mentally and physically.

what are the bad side effects from mushrooms? i have never heard of one besides tummy ache, i agree though that marijuana is harmless

We SHOULD legalize all drugs. You cannot stop people from using. If they want it they will get it, end of story. If the government doesn't control it, the criminals will and conversely if the government does control it, the criminals wont have a demand to supply. The problem is, the government wants it this way. It is far more lucrative to keep these things illegal because they get a bigger budget for law enforcement.

What are you basing your 'facts' on shrooms on? I'd say there more evidence for shrooms enhancing mental and cognitive function and less danger than pot in that you don't smoke them therefore you're not ingesting carcinogens.

Humans have been taking magic mushrooms for thousands of years. Read the book "Food of the Gods". Shrooms might have played a role in the creation of religion itself with the early cattle worshiping religions like Çatalhöyük and other early Saharan religions that moved into the Fertile Crescent and India once the Sahara became a desert several thousand years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk

Republicans are American conservatives. Conservatives are homogeneous. They are scared little creatures who can't handle progress, creativity, and flexibility. They attach them selves to their national ignorant cult, because they can't stand the knowledge that we all have hearts and minds to pave our own destiny. They adopt scientific progress after its proven to be helpful, yet try to obstruct any in the future. They live in fear.
They call people who have their own opinions liberals. Liberals have scary ideas that might upset the structure of the familiar.
Can you tell I don't like Republicans?

Nooooooo. Realy ? I would never have had an inkling unless you
mentioned it.

Life is rarely that simple, it is both and a few other reasons.

I recall back in the 1970s, when the U.S. Gummint started its mismanagerial
Bankrupty, that the elderly on Social Security had to buy canned cat & dog food
so that they could still afford to pay their rent & utilities, and afford their meds.
Their meds were extorting them of course, because of the Monopoly Big Pharma
had established through the 1937 Prohibition. Extorting them of their fixed income
and of their health & longevity because, their meds, like the nature of the non
competitive Corporations that couldn't out do the Nature that God invented
took out more than they put back in. WE all know that Cannabis will immunize
virtualy all people against 90% of infectious & degenerative diseases...But
those trusting souls who believed the Gummint was acting in their best interest
got the short end of the stick for their misplaced loyalty. You can bet that Senator
in the photo never had to eat cat food. So much for their double standard. The
direct election of U.S. Senators was one of the worst betrayals We the People
have ever sustained. We would have been better off with only 1 House of Congress.
We would have had a much better chance of repealing bad Statutes with only
the H.R. Bad Statutes like the Federal Reserve Act, the Prohibition on M.J. etc...
I'm convinced the best thing American votors can do is to boycott voting for
all 50 of them at the voting booths until they repeal that horrid Constitutional
Amendment. Considering the clusterfuck it is, I'm still not entirely convinced
there ever was a Constitutional Convention convened to enact it. Also in the
1970s there was an Equal Rights Amendment to afford women equal pay.
That never realy got off the ground. It's meant to be very difficult to change
the original Constitution, legitimately. When the States and their People had
direct control over the U.S. Senate, the Corporations never had a stranglehold
over it.

My definiton of a " Conservative " is that they have the same rancid
attitudes as the Banksters & Userers. Pay it back, pay it back. We will
keep you enslaved unless & until you do pay it back. We don't believe
in opening anything unless it's meant to close it back up. And if that
means you with it, so be it. Humans are only property that talks. My
definition of an honest Liberal is that they have this nasty habit of believing
that if humans are given the privilege of Liberty, they will honor it and
be disinclined to abuse it to commit wrongdoing. Pay it forward. Pay it forward.
Open your mind to all the possibilities of achieving human potential. And
trust in God to know that His distribution of talents is non Discriminatory.
Given the choice of being able to choose which attitude is more savory,
which one would you believe more people would adhere to ? The one
that makes more people happy ? Or the one that makes more people miserable ?
Our conservative trend toward hyper individualism and away from community
has left more people with more stuff, but a lot less happiness to enjoy life with.

Canned cat food and dog food has never been cheaper than cheap processed food in the market. That was another political line of bullshit along the lines of death panels or Willie Horton.