I know if they ever legalize it in my state i'm opening up a business not giving away my idea though

With all the available farm land around I see it jumping up real quick here in the U.S. I'd grow it 18 acres of land to grow on and I myself would be creating jobs as is the sentiment with a lot of the other farm holders in my surrounding county no different than the tobacco that is grown here in the states.

I feel the need to clarify this for those who might not know, it is still illegal at a FEDERAL Level. This means that while no city, county or state Law Enforcement can arrest you for possession; Law Enforcement officers from agencies like the ATF, US Marshals or FBI can and likely still will if you try to do something as stupid as smoke in front of them.

If you don't believe me that's fine, this is just a warning...

I live in Washington state and yes i did vote for it on a pure economic viewpoint. It may still be illegal at federal level but honestly their presence here is a joke. On December 6th is when the law takes effect. The state is taking a year-long process to set up how they are going to set up shops and the tax rates. Only thing i was shocked by was how big a margin it passed by 69% of the votes where for it, nobody ever gets 2 out of 3 people to agree on anything these days.

This isn't really a "human rights" issue.

Would you say compulsory seatbelt wearing is a "rights" issue?

What about making plutonium and nuclear weapons available to the general public while you're at it?


This is clearly a safety issue... and it affects the advancement of civilisation. But clearly you've made up your mind that it's a freedom issue.

Well, except for obesity, I would say alcohol and other drugs kills much more people than any of those other things in your list. Don't get me wrong though. Making alcohol illegal today is impossible since it's deeply rooted in our culture, but it's really just another drug and making more legal would be stupid. That's what I think.

And all those things in that list actually fills some kind of pupose, except obesity which only kills the obese person. 6 000 for texting, really? lol, source please!

Weed isn't the monster some of you make it out to be. Of course if it's abused, then it can have harmful effects however the same argument can be said with things like cars and well, pretty much anything.

Unfortunately, it seems your thread got derailed by the inevitable Good/Bad argument about the substance itself without anyone really reading what you wrote.

I think the potential is there for the states to create a few jobs and collect the tax money. I would work nicely enough before the Feds show up and try to destroy it. It's not so much that the Feds actually want to waste their resources in this way. It's just that they are being urged to do so by huge corporations who depend on a nice stream of non-violent prisoners stuck with ridiculous sentences for possession. Those prisoners make good slave labor, you know, and are a handy free way to get all the work done without having to pay salaries or benefits to the workers.

Of course, prisoners do get their health needs taken care of, but not by the corporations. It is payed by the taxpayers. Us.

All the while, many of those taxpayers who are not in prison are looking around for work and not finding any. Why? Because the job creators are outsourcing the jobs to the prisons. :rolleyes:

While I think that what these two states did was a good idea economically, in practice it will not work. Those big corporations are not going to want to hire people on the outside. Hell no. You have to treat law biding citizens/employees like human beings, (--as if we have a right to our own dignity or something!) However, in a prison, Mr Corporation can just treat the workers like slaves. Slaves are free, and It bolsters the bottom line.

--I really doubt the fat cats are going to let that gravy train of exploitable free labor go without a fight, and they'll use the Feds to do it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison–industrial_complex

Fat cats.... hehehehe.

The most likely federal response would be a lawsuit against both states arguing that federal law trumps any state laws. Or SWAT-style raids by federal agents to enforce federal drug laws despite laxer state authorities.

Yes to the seat belt, no to the nuclear weapons. Because, as everybody else seems to be saying, seat belts only affect YOU and your own active decisions. Even if what you are saying about marijuana is true (which it isn't), it affects only the user.

Civilization, by the way. No "s."

Works both ways. British English vs American English.

Thanks. The more you know.

I agree. I even wrote a report about this.
Might as well make it legal and get some tax revenue from it. People are smoking it anyways.

Yeah. And even the tax benefits don't come close to the cost savings of NOT having to enforce the regulations and jump through bureaucracy.

Plus it'd be nice to open up opportunities for Coast Guard brothers-in-arms to not die over such trivial substances.