Legalization // Current TV

LAPD deputy chief wins Ask Obama contest with pro-drug-legalization question

Tomangell sez, "A question advocating marijuana legalization from a retired LAPD... more

pjacobs51
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11 days ago
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54 comments

Virginia Is For Potheads?

When this country got torpedoed by the Great Recession of 2007, we experienced the largest collapse in state revenues on record. Now, nearly two years after the bottom fell out of the economy, all but four states have been forced to cut services for residents. More than 30 states have raised taxes and 29 still face budget shortfalls.

Among the states struggling to dig itself out of the financial abyss is Virginia, whose budget deficit reached $2 billion in 2012. Even at 8.3% growth in 2011, Virginia won’t fully restore its losses from the recession until 2019.

But David Englin, a Democratic delegate from Arlington, is unwilling to wait seven more years for a recovery and has a creative proposal to give Virginia’s economy an instant shot of adrenaline. It’s House Joint Resolution 140 and it’s raising eyebrows among some of his fellow lawmakers and constituents.

Englin wants Virginia's state-owned liquor outlets, called ABC stores, to start selling marijuana.

At least, for now, he wants the General Assembly to allow for a study on the economic impact of the sale and taxing of pot in Virginia as well as the feasibility and practicality of legalization.

“Right now, people are smoking marijuana, Englin told his local CBS affiliate. “Respectable members of society are out there secretly purchasing and smoking marijuana and the money they spend on that is going into the hands of criminals. So this legislation just seeks to find out how much money we could potentially be raising to fund core services of the Commonwealth.”

“What’s next? Selling it at Walmart (WMT)?” countered Wayne Frith of Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE) who believes marijuana’s health and safety implications are far too serious to allow this measure to pass.

Northern Virginia resident Bernard Hill thinks the proposal is “crazy” and opposes his tax dollars being spent to explore it. All told, the study, taken on by a joint subcommittee, would set the state back a little more than $15,000.

Hill may not be familiar with the old business adage “You have to spend money to make money” because if he was, he may be more comfortable knowing what kind of a return he’d be guaranteed on his investment. In 2011 alone, states like Colorado and California -- where medical marijuana is legal -- reaped $1.7 billion in sales.

To put this figure into perspective, consider that Pfizer (PFE) made $1.9 billion off Viagra -- which is legal everywhere.When this country got torpedoed by the Great Recession of 2007, we experienced the... more

Vierotchka
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18 days ago
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Snoop Dogg to W.H.: Legalize pot

Lots of celebrities want to meet the president and they often come with their own pet... more

Anonmaly
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1 month ago
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2 comments

The real reason why the media establishment attacks Ron Paul over 'racism'

It's fascinating to watch the long knives coming out for Texas Republican Rep.... more

maasanova
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1 month ago
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0 comments

Super Frat: Newt World Order

Mistah Sh*t watches one of the GOP candidates talk about weed.

TonyDiGerolamo
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1 month ago
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0 comments

Traffic Accidents Decline in States that Legalize Medical Marijuana

Any attempt to segue into this post with a clever lead is likely to fall flat, so in the interest of skipping the cliches: a new study out of University of Colorado Denver and Montana State University shows that legalizing medical marijuana sales in various states over the past two decades has led to a nearly 10 percent drop in traffic fatalities. What the study really shows--by way of causal chain--is a five percent drop in beer sales, and that has in turn led to fewer fatalities on the road. Put that in your pipe and smoke it (couldn’t resist just one).

This is the kind of study that’s going to be attacked from all sides, by those with agendas and those who will simply point out that establishing that causal link between legalized pot and the decrease in alcohol sales (and in turn the reduced traffic deaths) is difficult with all the variables out there. But it is an interesting study for no other reason than it actually attempts to measure the effects of legalizing pot by linking it to some kind of hard data rather than some hard-to-quantify metric.That, of course, is traffic data, of which we have plenty. Traffic data is bountiful and generally pretty good because incidents on the road--particularly those that involve injury or fatality--very rarely go unnoticed by authorities, who are required to dutifully record them in the public record. So Daniel Rees of UC Denver and D. Mark Anderson of MSU started looking at the traffic data both nationwide and more particularly in the 13 states that legalized marijuana for medical use between 1990 and 2009.

They found several connections and trends that seemingly stem from the legalization laws, but most notably they found evidence that alcohol consumption by 20- to 29-year-olds decreased, and that translated into fewer deaths on the road. Previous simulator studies have shown that drinkers tend to drive more aggressively and take more risks, while marijuana users tilt toward risk-averse behaviors. Notably, they also found that in the states that legalized marijuana there was no evidence of an uptick in use among minors, which is a major concern for the medical marijuana opposition.

To be fair, establishing these kinds of links is still difficult as variable abound and the data is sometimes difficult to trust. Common sense (experience?) tells us that kids smoking pot generally don’t go around telling adults about it, including those conducting academic research. So establishing whether or not more or fewer kids are getting high is more or less an exercise in guesswork. And Rees and Anderson point out that while alcohol is often consumed in public places marijuana is consumed privately, often in the home. So making marijuana use a publicly acceptable activity for all people--not just those with a medical necessity--might diminish the reduction in traffic fatalities as more stoney drivers get behind the wheel.

But things being what they are, medical marijuana laws appear to be trending toward safer roadways, and that’s all this study purports to demonstrate. Place whatever value on that you will. PopSci would like to point out that this post does not constitute an opinion either for or against the legalization of medical marijuana, and Rees’s and Anderson’s findings are just, like, their opinions, man.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-11/todays-study-debate-medical-marijuana-laws-reduce-traffic-fatalitiesAny attempt to segue into this post with a clever lead is likely to fall flat, so in... more

EmperorThan
added this
2 months ago
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1 comment

Chicago Councilmen set to Decriminalize Possession of Marijuana

Chicago pot smokers may soon be able to light up without fear of jail time. Several... more

jeffissleeping
added this
4 months ago
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14 comments

Colombia's President: Marijuana Should Be Legalized Globally

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said this week that legalization of... more

Anonmaly
added this
4 months ago
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2 comments

White House Petition Website: Legalize Marijuana Petition

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/legalize-and-regulate-marijuana-manner... more

Avior
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5 months ago
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28 comments

Debate: Legalize marijuana? And a look at demand side policies in the U.S. war on drugs

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/07/debate-legalize-marijuana-and-a-look... more

Avior
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5 months ago
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3 comments

PBS Travel Guru Rick Steves: Smoking Pot is "My Civil Liberty"

"I'm a hardworking, tax-paying, kid-raising, church-going citizen of this... more

hooks
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5 months ago
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0 comments

THis is not surprising, but why wait?

going" to cash in

chrisntom
added this
5 months ago
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0 comments

As Americans and good souls, we need to legalize ALL natural medicines

: NOTE : This group will end when prohibition ends. :) LOL (: >> NOT

chrisntom
added this
6 months ago
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0 comments

5 Pro-Marijuana Arguments That Aren't Helping

I find this intersting because we see a lot of these same arguments here on Current.... more

musicjohnny
added this
7 months ago
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0 comments

Article: ASSEMBLY BILL No. 685 Human Rights to Water

text of California bill for the human rights to water

frankpatton
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7 months ago
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0 comments

Article: California: Human right to water bill passes through Senate committee

could be first in the U.S.

frankpatton
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7 months ago
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0 comments

Critics of the Medical use of Marijuana

WWH – For many patients, traditional medications do work and they do not require... more

joeeddy
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7 months ago
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0 comments

Woody, In The Morning: Gone To Pot

ard on the heels of the massive and monumentally stupid “Great GOPhuquery”... more

joeeddy
added this
8 months ago
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1 comment

Ron Paul: End Marijuana Prohibition Now!

"Heh, this is the only thing I have ever heard from this gentleman that I agree... more

KB723
added this
8 months ago
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213 comments

Paul and Frank Come Out For Weed In A Big Way

The Legislation, Modeled after the Repeal of Alcohol Prohibition, Comes on the 40th... more

joeeddy
added this
8 months ago
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0 comments

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