CDZ Thoughts about pot legalization

[Debra K]

Why are some harmful substances legal and some illegal?

Tobacco kills 400,000 a year. Marijuana kills zero. We know how much damage some can cause under alcohol.

Politicians talk about personal responsibility but don't want people to be able to exercise it.

False equivalency. We don't know the long term effects of marijuana, but we do know that it is the particulate matter in smoking of any kind that causes lung cancer, not nicotine. As for alcohol, it can be consumed without forcing others to ingest it. Also, alcoholism is an addiction, so why add more addictive substances to the marketplace? Your argument is equivalent to saying people shouldn't be inoculated against smallpox because it isn't as dangerous as Ebola.

I'm addicted to coffee creamer ... a particular brand and flavor ... if I consume too much, perhaps it will kill me. And coffee creamer moves in or otherwise affects interstate commerce granting Congress the right to regulate it under the Commerce Clause ...

Anyway ... criminalizing the use, possession, sale, or distribution of marijuana and other "recreational" drugs only serves the financial interests of criminal syndicates and gangs ... and their criminal activity harms society far more than the addictive qualities of drugs. Our government can regulate the drugs, tax the drugs, and treat addicts more efficiently and effectively than it can wage a "war on drugs " that will never disappear until people can get their "recreational" drugs legally. I support decriminalization and regulation.

 

[jwoodie]

I support decriminalization and regulation.

How would you regulate marijuana? Would it be a criminal offense to violate those regulations?

 

[Debra K]

I support decriminalization and regulation.

How would you regulate marijuana? Would it be a criminal offense to violate those regulations?

I would examine other regulatory codes as a starting point.

See, e.g., Marijuana Retailers Home Growers Denver Marijuana Info

Like alcohol, it is not an offense for adults to possess or use alcohol ... but other conduct is criminal, i.e., driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, etc.

Children and non-consenting adults should not be exposed to the substance and there may be civil and/or criminal consequences.

 

[Wry Catcher]

I support decriminalization and regulation.

How would you regulate marijuana? Would it be a criminal offense to violate those regulations?

I'll answer:

• Cultivation remains a felony, unless the farmer is licensed by the state;
• Sales remains a felony, unless the proprietor is licensed by the state;
• Sales include a sales tax and an excise tax (former to POST for training LE, latter into grants for AOD (alcohol and other drugs) counseling services;
• Profits from sales to be used in part to provide a comprehensive health curriculum in grades 6 to 12;
• Sales to anyone under the age of 21 remains a felony;
  
• Evidence in a field sobriety test by a trained officer and + urine test is necessary and sufficient to sustain a conviction for DUI;
• Transportation of more than an ounce requires a license by the state
• Transport companies moving product from farm to place of sail must be licensed by the state (background check of all drivers and delivery personnel)
• Simple possession for recreational use must be used responsibly, smoking the product in public can be held to be a violation of city, county and special districts codes.