Opponents of Marijuana Reform Can't Keep Their Story Straight
If there's one thing we can count on in the marijuana debate, it is the ceaseless propensity of our opposition to say the first thing that pops into their head. This effect becomes particularly pronounced when state-level reform initiatives threaten to deprive entrenched drug enforcement professionals of their cherished authority over petty marijuana offenders.
The latest examples come from Massachusetts, where a November ballot initiative aims to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Local law enforcement personnel are sharply opposed to dropping the criminal penalties for possession, saying that dealers who travel with more than an ounce of marijuana can simply carry around less, to avoid criminal charges.District Attorney David Capeless said decriminalizing marijuana will mean a proliferation of use, as dealers pick up more customers. [Berkshire Eagle]
So dealers will carry less, but sell more? David Capeless's enthusiasm for ruining young lives over marijuana is already well-documented, but is this really the best he can come up with?
It is exactly these sorts of plainly ridiculous protestations that lead one to wonder what the hell these people even want. And solving that riddle becomes a greater challenge the longer you listen to them:
[William] Breault, an activist who heads up the Main South Alliance for Public Safety, said citizens have an obligation to get educated about the issue. He accuses the decriminalization advocates of using "deceptive tactics" to gain voter support.… he claimed that few, if any, inmates in the state's jails are sent there for minor marijuana possession alone; in local courts, it's not uncommon for first-time possession offenders to receive an eventual dismissal of the charges, with no criminal record resulting.
Huh? That's frickin' great, but if you're cool with it then why are you arguing with us? The whole point of the initiative is to stop running people through the gauntlet over petty marijuana offenses. If some people are already beating their charges without society coming to a crashing halt, then obviously we're onto something with this. Our opponents are literally going around exclaiming that we absolutely must vigorously prosecute marijuana offenders, then two seconds later they're boasting about how that's not what we're doing now anyway.
Of course, observing, as we often do, that our opponents' arguments are just transparently silly and disingenuous brings us to the question of why they even bother. There will always be better things to do with billions of dollars than investigate and bust marijuana users, so it's tempting to ponder how anyone struggling to grasp that concept nonetheless manages to put pants on in the morning.
Personally, I don't think it's just greed or meanness, although there's plenty of that to go around. Really, I think they're just scared of what a post-drug war America might look like. I can't wait to show them.
digg
redditweed
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 4:37pmmost people realy need it too, think ,get done with their day even the week .i think yall need too get high and leave human being along because i need it too. it,,,, weed... it helps
its about the money
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 5:13pmcocksuckers like this guy just want the money that little pot busts bring if he had to dodge a few bullets every where he went he might reconsider robbing everyone .wtf
I'll leave this one...
Comment posted by Scott Morgan on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 6:08pm...since it doesn't actually threaten violence. But seriously, cut that shit out. Do you have any idea what would happen if pot-smokers started shooting at police? Every pot bust would become a brutal affair. Every hippie would be treated like a terrorist and the number of innocent people shot by frantic cops would increase dramatically.
We don't want war in our streets. That's what this site is about and if you don't believe in it, then make your case intelligently somewhere else, so I can link it and explain why it's wrong.
Tax Revenue vs. Court Costs
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 11:57pmIf some of these public officials would look at the total cost of prosecution vs. the revenue generation from taxation of a drug that is less addictive and destructive than alcohol or tobacco, then we might get somewhere. Take a look at the facts! How many ODs from the drug? Not too many that anyone has shown. How much money is spent on enforcement? Way too much...we're talking billions! What would happen if you just legalized and regulated it? Ask any economist and the answer is simple....the price would fall dramatically as supply would go up. Enforcement costs would go to zero and tax revenue would go through the roof just like alcohol after prohibition was lifted. It's not that complicated people. California already takes in more than $100 million per year from medicinal sales. The estimates I've seen from outlets like CNN put the tax revenue in the neighborhood of $6-9 billion for the US. Add in the reduction in enforcement which costs around $15-20 billion and you get a net gain of $21-29 billion dollars. Of course, I'm just another pothead accountant with an MBA so why should you listen to me??
Key Ingredient Missing?
Comment posted by ph0ed1n on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 1:43pmDrug prohibitionists don't have to keep their story straight, and drug prohibition doesn't have to actually work. It just has to look good to the public majority. If it looks good, no 'reputable' individual or group in the mainstream opposes it for fear of looking bad (losing business, etc.)
It doesn't matter that we're right, because the mainstream media doesn't report that we're right, which means the public majority doesn't know we're right.
If no one is sending high-quality press releases on a regular basis, I need to know that. The Liberators, a public relations campaign I've started to complement the rest of the reform movement exists to break down that important barrier, using the power of public relations to show the public majority that we are the good guys (Liberty and truth are on our side).
Until then, the public majority weighs law enforcement (the majority of them supporting prohibition) over the reform movement.
If we don't shine a very bright light (one well beyond the choir we continuously preach to here), we accomplish nothing.
Success is being achieved by the hard work of reform organizations that expand support little by little, wielding undeniable truth to counter the prohibitionist demonization campaign, and that work is to be praised and celebrated for sure.
However, I think we can do a much better job communicating directly with the public majority via the mainstream, while the reform movement continues to do what it has been doing.
Your thoughts?
One key ingredient IS missing
Comment posted by Anonymous on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 2:52pm"It doesn't matter that we're right, because the mainstream media doesn't report that we're right, which means the public majority doesn't know we're right."
Well, now this is the crux of the matter, isn't it? What is lacking is the proper interface between drug policy reformers and mainstream media. The DEA or ONDCP trot out business types in suits which gives them the aura of uptight correctness. Local and sometimes national news outlets cover cannabis law reform marches and end up interviewing bonked out youth with dreadlocks and Dr Seuss hats. Who do you think your mother (or grandmother) is going to identify with? We need sober, well scrubbed, suit-and-tie drug reformers with clear eyes describing failed drug policies. Now some of you might want to denounce this as an "image thing". But the "image" war is clearly being won by the lying government suits. Fight fire with fire, I say. It can only help...
Cannibus
Comment posted by Anonymous on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 4:42pmMarijuana,does not give you a headache,better than alcohal...Stroke,blood infections ,more than all of your fingers,3 open heart valve replacements,all of this and for the last 20+ years I have been FINE,I only take comaudin(blood thinner) and Medical Marijuana that is it....
My Doctor IS so PROUD of Me
game gold
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/20/2009 - 3:39amI hope i can get wakfu kamas in low price, and then i can save
some money.
Yesterday i bought wakfu gold for my friend.
i want him like it. i will give wakfu money to him as
birthday present. i like the wakfu kama very much.
I usually buy wakfu kamas and keep it in my store.
Press Release?
Comment posted by ph0ed1n on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 9:26amDid anyone send a good press release to Boston mainstream media outlets highlighting this point?