duh

The drug war messes up everything.......i got convicted of three felonys for growing two bigbud plants and now i can't even get a job at walmart in independence iowa thats some bull. I hope legalazation does happen sooner than later....ps good thing im paying my way through school for welding or id be goin nowhere but McDonalds for a job this legal system has got to realize that marijuana dosen't make you a criminal. You can still be a productive citizen

If you have any questions e-mail me bigdaddy_for_u@hotmail.com

1 billion dollars in short term gain, and many more billions in increments from the revenue marijuana tax will produce. this site is worthless. The war on drugs has failed and is costing me money.

I am not a proponent of drug use, BUT I do have a well substantiated knowledge of the effects of cannabis. We will have legalization, along with heavy regulation/taxation, just not in the immediate future. The so called "potheads", are not simply the lazy-ass burnout you seem to refer to. Non-medicinal use can be found in your doctor, your attorney, your spouse, educators, legislators, and all with substantial abundance. It has less physical detriment than alcohol, and has in no way been proven as addictive, if at all. Mood altering aside, there are no documented cases of rage or violence as is found in alcohol. At best someone may be found happily driving to the Circle K for snacks, at snail blistering speeds! I have studied long term effects on daily users for over 15 years, and have seen no detriment to an individuals normal social life, as opposed to "sick days" for hangovers for many alcohol users. This alone costs our economy billions.
NOW FOR THE KICKER~
Hemp in itself can provide multiple positive economic impacts, for instance; Clean burning bio-fuels requiring less land than corn, due the rapid growth cycle; Clothing fibers; Healthy cooking oils; Paper; as well as Increased hunger for patients in chemotherapy. Marijuana is not merely a mild narcotic, but potentially one of the most valuable resources yet to be fully developed.

What's next, criminalizing Co2 propellants? Spray paint? Mouthwash? Lysol? Poppy Seeds? Gasoline? ALL OF THESE HAVE BEEN USED AS SYNTHETIC NARCOTICS...

WAKE UP PEOPLE-

marry me!

hemp got pwned by cotton industrial owners..those blood sucking money bastards and gov't is probably being sold out by tobacco owners as well too.

marijuana > ciggarettes & alcohol
hemp > cotton

why place a ban on a plant?!

I can't disagree with your content, but it could prove helpful if supporters of hemp would insinuate, rather than brashly name-call... it adds to the credibility toward state of mind. Sucks to have to chose your words conservatively, but I do understand your point.
RN

again, WAKE UP PEOPLE. Get involved, but be prudent... I lived in Seattle during the WTO riots, and was terribly embarrassed by the violent protests, even if the PD were irreverent as well.
What happened to "Sit In's", the modern filibuster...?

how could there ever be heavy regulation on something that you grow in your own home with great ease.

Well, think about it...

They regulate tobacco, which is easily grown by individuals. But why would you grow it yourself when you can have it properly grown, harvested, cured, processed, and rolled into a cigarette for you?

Its the same with any other economic good. Some people will continue to produce their own, but the majority will rely on the market to do all the work for them so they can simply give money and receive a finished product.

key word: PROPERLY. tobacco is anything BUT properly processed! Comercially grown tobacco is LOADED with extremely dangerous poisonous man-made chemicals! Thats why ciggarettes cause cancer! Tobacco doesn't NATURALLY contain all those thousands of cancer causing agents. If they started growing cannabis comercially on a large scale they wuold probly use the same practices they use on tobacco, & that alone is a reason to grow yourt own!

Tobacco can be grown legally by every citizen and is grown by many, yet most people buy packaged cigarettes or bags of tobacco and roll their own. People can grow their own grapes for wine, or barley, hops, and malt to make beer, but most people who make home made beer buy the ingredients from retailers. The vast majority of people simply buy the wine and beer from the grocery store and pay taxes on it at the time of purchase. The same will happen with pot. People in the USA will buy marijuana from the store the same way they buy tobacco (as long as the taxes aren't too high). It's simply a lot easier to buy it from the store than grow your own. Their will be an increase in grow your own, but when fear of the DEA is a thing of the past, people will buy at retail because we all want it now (whatever "it" may be).

Its just a bunch of old men in office with their heads up their asses making these decisions to keep it illegal.

i would just like to say that when you stated that pot heads were lazy ass burn outs is a complete misinturpritation people who smoke weed dont smoke weed and go out and play a sport wile stoned people smoke weed to relax and enjoy the better things in life weed brings people tougether and brings people to peace, if you want to do a drung that will get you hyped up to do sports maby we should legalize cocain

The day that potheads choose to openly celebrate their appreciation of marijuana in full view of the authorities that imprision them will be the same day that marijuana is legalized. I am not naive of the fact that some individuals have chosen to do this in grandiose fashion - Marc Emery, Ken Gorman - but those individuals are the fringe of the fringe of the total population of potheads. When the general culture taps into the genius in the actions of Emery and Gorman cannabis history will be taught in the schools. Just imagine if it became popular among potheads to plant every seed they found in their bags. What if it became common for potheads to break urinals in building frequented by members of high society for the purpose of testing their urine for pot? There are many methods that pot heads could use that would guarantee their immediate victory. I think I might be more opimistic than you that one of these potential events I am thinking of will occur soon.

wake up, and smell the cannabis, bud. weve been headed that way for years. People know its not the "demon weed" it was made out to be and we are turning the battleship around.

that sux drugs wont b leagilized

pot will be legalized before I die, it's already gaining increasing acceptance and studies are showing that it is less harmful than it was previously thought. just because you smoke pole doesn't mean you should hate on people who know whats up

Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it's been in use.

Prohibition doesn't work with anything. Neither does unrestrained Capitalism. Plato reported this over 2600 year-ago.

I hope you're being sarcastic, the government loses money by going out and trying to prosecute adults choosing to ingest a safe substance . After you deal with the tax dollars spent on all the court cases, the man hours wasted looking to bust stoners and how much we spend on probation officers and drug counseling for people who don't have a problem, marijuana prohibition becomes a money pit and legalization would lead to government approved stores which could provides tons of money in tax dollars.

Money/economic driven arguments aside, I have the right to smoke marihuana, period.

GOD gave me free will and the Government killed it...I want my free will back!!!And your just jealous because you cant smoke it cuz of what you worry about people thinking of you.I am referring to Mr.Nieve up there

Someone's an idiot.
They're offering over one billion a year in tax money because that'd be roughly how much would be made a year from taxing weed.

One billion a year not one billion once.

People who legalized alcohol again after prohibition could still remember what it was like before it was outlawed and they could see the difference that prohibition made, it just brought about more crime and troubles.

With MJ nobody can really remember what it was like when it was still legal, it just takes a little imagination in the minds of the old men running this nation and at the very least we'll see change when the younger generation starts to rise into political power. A change will come but only god knows when.

Just look at the polls and opinions of the people, most people believe that prohibition is a waste of time and slowly but surely more and more states are decriminalizing weed as a result of listening to their citizens. The federal government can only overlook the people for so long.

Yes is a normal world to tax cannbius is great but why bow down to these prick who messed up the system were we are in charge, not them! they do what we say, not us begging them!! If the state of California do not take the funds and protect its people under its laws only, well take the monies form a peoples army with these funds take the state of California and make into a republic again and be the fifth largest money makers and with hemp, and cannabus in this republic we whould be fuel free and food free and of the rest of the u.s. and all there bullshit ways. It was said long before us and this cause came about, but it fits this times we live in, "GIVE ME LIBERTY, OR GIVE ME DEATH" I also know that in the Declaration of Independence that in the second paragrafe of this paper states I have the right when this Government became evil, to kick its ass! "That whenever any form of government becomes destructive(like iraq not a legel war under the Constitution) of these ends, it is the RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE to alter or to abolish it,and institute new government" That alone give us ALL of this state to kick out any and all who supports this state government that lead by the son of two card carring members of the REAL NAZI PARTY! and you still wonder why were all getting messed over? WE dont NEED THIS BAD GOVERNMENT ANY MORE! To broow a line from a former first lady, we must say to the state and federal governments to them and there rule JUST SAY NO! We can do this without bloodshed at all rember the old u.s.s.r. went overnight to the federal repulic of russia overnight!!, and in a country of 11 time zones only seven people died in this change over! why not here quit begging these pices of crap leaders who for one DO NOT LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE remove them in mass, but they will say "THAT WHAT THE VOTING BOOTH IS FOR, with mavhines that lie and can be change, and the people vote never as lon as the ELECTORAL COLLEGE EXIST your vote means NOT A DAMM THING, MY the Constitution of the United States of this land I have the right to change this means of up to war.LETS ALL THE FINE FOLK OF CALIFORNIA TAKE THIS STATE BACK TO THE REPULIC, WE WONT HAVE A FUEL PROBLEMS ANY MORE AND LET THE OTHER WACTH US ALL SHINE!! just the word of a indian whos people know how to live years under the boots of others.

They would lead to more tax revenue, more jobs and help generate money for the country. Also, weed has never been linked to lung cancer or emphysema or any of the other nasty side effects that cigarette smoking is known for.

this is a psychological effect that can be seen in many different scenarios. skipping the science of it, any fool knows: tell a kid "don't look in the cookie jar" and as soon as you leave the room, they will. america has the most restrictions on the very few substances it actually does allow, and these restrictions bring about more problems than almost any other nation on planet earth..

if someone were to make a top10 list of nations we could call 'land of the free' I'll bet america would not be on it.

any supporters of the legalization of marijuana have my support.