Posted on Jan 4, 2018
Legalized marijuana use threatened as Sessions rescinds Obama-era directive that eased federal...
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Just laughing at the hypocrisy. It's always interesting to watch when GOP and Conservatives argue for small Federal government and State's rights except if the state is doing something that will affect the pockets of their donors. Won't address the opioid epidemic but lets go after medicinal and recreational marijuana.
Legalized marijuana use threatened as Sessions rescinds Obama-era directive that eased federal...
Posted from washingtonpost.com
Government
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Marijuana
Drugs
Posted 7 y ago
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Honestly the entire war on drugs just needs to end. Why do the politicians think it is their business what anyone does with their own body? I still do not understand why we needed the 18th Amendment to ban alcohol but marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and all these other illegal drugs were able to be banned via bureaucratic regulations.
Some small studies have shown that states who have legalized medical marijuana have seen a decrease in opioid overdoses. But the massive increase in these ODs was caused by the federal government requiring pharmaceutical companies to reformulate prescription OxyContin to make it less susceptible to abuse. All this did was lead to more use of heroin and fentanyl which is less trustworthy that what you are buying is actually what you are receiving. Since fetanyl is more potent what people get is usually more a mixture of that than the heroin they expect which easily leads to deaths since people have less of a physical tolerance for fetanyl.
But you are right, states right's only matter to politicians when they advance their particular point of view on a position against what the federal government insists. This goes for marijuana, firearms, immigration, and same sex marriage among other topics.
Some small studies have shown that states who have legalized medical marijuana have seen a decrease in opioid overdoses. But the massive increase in these ODs was caused by the federal government requiring pharmaceutical companies to reformulate prescription OxyContin to make it less susceptible to abuse. All this did was lead to more use of heroin and fentanyl which is less trustworthy that what you are buying is actually what you are receiving. Since fetanyl is more potent what people get is usually more a mixture of that than the heroin they expect which easily leads to deaths since people have less of a physical tolerance for fetanyl.
But you are right, states right's only matter to politicians when they advance their particular point of view on a position against what the federal government insists. This goes for marijuana, firearms, immigration, and same sex marriage among other topics.
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SSgt (Join to see)
MAJ James Woods - And the same cannot be said about the current War on Drugs when it comes to the amount of crime associated with it being illegal compared to crime during Prohibition? If it was legalized most of the crime that is now associated with it would go away since people would be able to use the law to settle conflicts rather than having to settle them through violence. When was the last time you saw McDonalds and Burger King, Jack Daniels and Jim Bean, or Coca-Cola and Pepsi resort to physical violence to resolve their differences? They don't have to because they can use legal means to settle their differences and gain more market share rather than physically taking out the competition through violence or threats of violence.
I agree with you that it seems to be about what allows politicians to make the most money but I think it is also about power and control. By these drugs being illegal it allows politicians to control so many aspects of our lives. Local police have powers they otherwise would not if drugs were legalized. Even federal intelligence agencies gain power since they have broader abilities to wiretap foreigners suspected of trafficking narcotics. This invades all of our privacy whether we use or not because you never know if your information will be gathered up along with criminals and while you may not have to worry about legal repercussions if you are not committing a crime that doesn't mean that you may have things in your life that you would prefer to keep private.
I agree with you that it seems to be about what allows politicians to make the most money but I think it is also about power and control. By these drugs being illegal it allows politicians to control so many aspects of our lives. Local police have powers they otherwise would not if drugs were legalized. Even federal intelligence agencies gain power since they have broader abilities to wiretap foreigners suspected of trafficking narcotics. This invades all of our privacy whether we use or not because you never know if your information will be gathered up along with criminals and while you may not have to worry about legal repercussions if you are not committing a crime that doesn't mean that you may have things in your life that you would prefer to keep private.
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MAJ James Woods
1stSgt Nelson Kerr - Actually there are still plenty of harmful drugs that we can continue to fight as long as we responsibly use resources and effective strategy. There are drugs that destroy lives and shouldn't ever be legalized but MJ isn't one of them. The War on Drugs won't go away while the most dangerous life threatening, criminally motivated drugs are illegal. MJ a Schedule 1 drug is because of the Pharma Industry that pushes codeine and opiate pain killers and the alcohol and tobacco industry don't want to see legalized MJ.
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MAJ James Woods
SSgt (Join to see) - The only violent crime associated with MJ is the illegal cross border trafficking of the product. Similar to the bootlegging runs of alcohol (Jack Daniels and Jim Bean) during prohibition. Legalize it and the activities that lead to violence goes away. I'm sure if we ever outlawed hamburgers or cigarettes that would lead to black market activities that would lead to violence between cattle ranchers and smugglers with LEOs upholding the ban.
Current War on Drugs should focus on the actual drugs that cause large number of deaths and violent criminal activity; i.e. heroin, cocaine, opiates, date rape drugs, etc. The criminalization of MJ had very little to do with significant threat to one's health and was more about incarceration of certain populace demographics in the country.
Current War on Drugs should focus on the actual drugs that cause large number of deaths and violent criminal activity; i.e. heroin, cocaine, opiates, date rape drugs, etc. The criminalization of MJ had very little to do with significant threat to one's health and was more about incarceration of certain populace demographics in the country.
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SSgt (Join to see)
MAJ James Woods - Legalize all of the drugs and the majority of the violence associated with them go away just as you seem to understand will happen with the legalization of marijuana. All drugs have some negative health aspects, including MJ, but it is not the government's responsibility to be our parent. Adults can think for themselves and should have agency over their own person to decide what they put into their own bodies. Heroin, cocaine, and opiates are not inherently violent products. Violence surrounds them because of the black market not being able to use the force of law to resolve conflicts. Sure some people will abuse the drugs but making them a criminal for doing so will not solve the issue.
Look into what Portugal did with decriminalizing all drugs back in 2001. There has not been an apocalypse due to them no longer being criminalized. Use rates are down, abuse treatment is up, and HIV and other infectious diseases associated with their use have dropped significantly because people are no longer afraid to look for help since they don't have to worry about being labeled a criminal.
If drugs were legalized people would have a better idea of what they were getting when they bought the product which is a big part of why the opioid crisis is going on right now. The government forced pharmaceutical companies to reformulate their synthetic drugs to make them less likely to be abused so people who did get addicted to them, or just wanted to get high with a similar effect, turned to heroin. The problem is the people who buy heroin do not always get heroin since it is difficult to verify the contents of illegal drugs. Fentanyl produces the same effect in much smaller doses so it frequently gets passed off as heroin so the suppliers can make a few extra dollars. The people who take it without realizing it is fentanyl instead of heroin end up ODing because they take doses equal to what they would take with heroin but it is more than they can handle.
I do agree with you that MJ criminalization has had to do with incarceration of certain demographics but so does the criminalization of opiates as they were viewed as a Chinese drug with criminalization starting in opium dens in San Francisco. The US has long had a problem with the Chinese. The first US immigration law was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 right around the same time the federal government started to crack down on opium. Drug laws have always been an excuse in the US to segregate different segments of society and give the government more power to control the population.
Look into what Portugal did with decriminalizing all drugs back in 2001. There has not been an apocalypse due to them no longer being criminalized. Use rates are down, abuse treatment is up, and HIV and other infectious diseases associated with their use have dropped significantly because people are no longer afraid to look for help since they don't have to worry about being labeled a criminal.
If drugs were legalized people would have a better idea of what they were getting when they bought the product which is a big part of why the opioid crisis is going on right now. The government forced pharmaceutical companies to reformulate their synthetic drugs to make them less likely to be abused so people who did get addicted to them, or just wanted to get high with a similar effect, turned to heroin. The problem is the people who buy heroin do not always get heroin since it is difficult to verify the contents of illegal drugs. Fentanyl produces the same effect in much smaller doses so it frequently gets passed off as heroin so the suppliers can make a few extra dollars. The people who take it without realizing it is fentanyl instead of heroin end up ODing because they take doses equal to what they would take with heroin but it is more than they can handle.
I do agree with you that MJ criminalization has had to do with incarceration of certain demographics but so does the criminalization of opiates as they were viewed as a Chinese drug with criminalization starting in opium dens in San Francisco. The US has long had a problem with the Chinese. The first US immigration law was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 right around the same time the federal government started to crack down on opium. Drug laws have always been an excuse in the US to segregate different segments of society and give the government more power to control the population.
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Follow the m,money, who is paying for the opposition to legalization and how do they financial profit
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