Questions on Decriminalization/Legalization movement

[emilynghiem]

1. Are there any groups pushing for Decriminalization of Marijuana which EMPHASIZE the need to address drug abuse, addiction, and crime AS A PRIORITY
and DON'T DENY or playdown the dangers and addictions associated with marijuana use?

I agree with decriminalization but have been continually disappointed
in not finding groups willing to push solid plans to replace it with.

I see plenty of people making arguments AGAINST the problems,
but I wanted to collaborate on SOLUTIONS.

2. Is there any Candidate or Leader pushing for criminal justice reform
to free up funds to support a State or Party system of covering health care?

This can be any angle, from decriminalization to save state resources, or replacing the death penalty, or managing work programs that don't abuse prison labor but cover costs of prisons.

I was very excited to find a group called RAMP - Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition.
But was disappointed there wasn't enough push to replace ACA with other means of funding more effective health care to address simultaneous issues.

Is this just too much to combine problems under one solution? Are groups just better off addressing criminal reform, health reform, and immigration reform SEPARATELY?

I thought it was more like a Rubik's cube where you can't solve one side of the puzzle without solving all of them. Is there any group, leader or proposed solution offering to resolve several issues at once, or is that too much for people to process?

Just wondering if I'm the weird one here, the oddball out who can't seem to
separate the trees from the forest. thanks for any referrals. I feel lost in the woods, if anyone can point me in the right direction!

 

[Pogo]

Cannabis is not a drug, nor is it addictive. It is deliberately mischaracterized by the DEA.

Simple answer: government needs to stop lying about it.

 

[HelenaHandbag]

1) Marijuana is not addictive.

2) You replace the current policy with nothing, let the states and the free market work things out, like they did when alcohol prohibition was ended.

3) You don not address any health issues with more government, which itself is the problem to begin with.

 

[Katzndogz]

If we could just get the potheads to stop poisoning others they might have a better case for decriminalization.

 

[Mr. H.]

NORML has a "Principles of Responsible Use" page...

Principles of Responsible Use

 

[Katzndogz]

The thing is potheads are too drug addled to understand what principles are.

The best thing to happen to them is an accident in the back of a patrol car.

 

[Moonglow]

The thing is potheads are too drug addled to understand what principles are.

The best thing to happen to them is an accident in the back of a patrol car.

Like wetting their pants???

 

[Duped]

If we could just get the potheads to stop poisoning others they might have a better case for decriminalization.

THC is not a poision Maybe we can get Eli Lilly, and the like to stop poisioning us

The answer is so simple; you educate people, and let them choose! Sure beats the hell out of the " war on drugs " There is really no alternative

 

[The2ndAmendment]

The War on Drugs is an effort by Neocons and Progressives to keep as many black people in jail as possible, denying their ability to vote and bear firearms.

 

[Katzndogz]

China's method of dealing with drugs is the best. There is no arrest or trial. It is a medical problem determined by blood test. The addict is ordered to work rehabilitation for three years. Plenty of time to detox. Work is on a farm or in a factory. If they reoffend they spend another three years. That's six years to recover from drugs. If they reoffend again, they are chronic addicts and never released. It is fair and cost effective.

 

[FA_Q2]

1) Marijuana is not addictive.

2) You replace the current policy with nothing, let the states and the free market work things out, like they did when alcohol prohibition was ended.

3) You don not address any health issues with more government, which itself is the problem to begin with.

This.

The OP makes blanket statements yet backs nothing up. No one is denying the health effects of MJ because most of those health effects simply do not exist.

Drug abuse is a personal issue anyway that the government does not belong in. Jail does not heal, it does not break addiction and it certainly does not help you become productive. Rehab, OTOH, does. The funny thing about rehab is that you have to WANT it for it to work at all. IOW, no one, including the government, can do a damn thing about your addiction. YOU are the only one that can do something about it.

 

[Pogo]

The War on Drugs is an effort by Neocons and Progressives to keep as many black people in jail as possible, denying their ability to vote and bear firearms.

Uhh.... yyyeaah, sure. That's why it was started by that Neocon "Progressive", Richard Nixon.

So you're saying only black people use drugs?

Wacko.

 

[Moonglow]

China's method of dealing with drugs is the best. There is no arrest or trial. It is a medical problem determined by blood test. The addict is ordered to work rehabilitation for three years. Plenty of time to detox. Work is on a farm or in a factory. If they reoffend they spend another three years. That's six years to recover from drugs. If they reoffend again, they are chronic addicts and never released. It is fair and cost effective.

Probably your idea, eh, Marxist comrade???

 

[Moonglow]

The War on Drugs is an effort by Neocons and Progressives to keep as many black people in jail as possible, denying their ability to vote and bear firearms.

Uhh.... yyyeaah, sure. That's why it was started by that Neocon "Progressive", Richard Nixon.

So you're saying only black people use drugs?

Wacko.

and please don't tell them about that 1970 treaty with the UN implementing the War on Drugs.....

 

[MikeK]

1. Are there any groups pushing for Decriminalization of Marijuana which EMPHASIZE the need to address drug abuse, addiction, and crime AS A PRIORITY and DON'T DENY or playdown the dangers and addictions associated with marijuana use?

[...]

Please provide some specifics about the "dangers and addictions associated with marijuana use."

 

[FA_Q2]

The War on Drugs is an effort by Neocons and Progressives to keep as many black people in jail as possible, denying their ability to vote and bear firearms.

Uhh.... yyyeaah, sure. That's why it was started by that Neocon "Progressive", Richard Nixon.

So you're saying only black people use drugs?

Wacko.

Did he state that? For someone that is always touting that words have meaning, nothing he stated would lead to that conclusion at all...

I disagree with the basic simplicity and 'evil' in such a view of the 'war on drugs' but that does not mean that such is without merit. The facts are that minorities are FAR more likely to be caught and jailed for drug crimes. I do not think that this is racial as much as socioeconomic and cultural though. I believe this because the problem is almost universal and while there are some racial problems the legal system is facing I have a hard time swallowing the idea that the entire system is racist thought.

The issue is that such facts do nothing but feed on themselves. More blacks getting jailed for drugs leads to more poverty and single parents in black families. This leads to more drug abuse and poor decisions which leads to even more arrests for possession.
Race and Prison | Drug War Facts

 

[Disir]

1. Are there any groups pushing for Decriminalization of Marijuana which EMPHASIZE the need to address drug abuse, addiction, and crime AS A PRIORITY
and DON'T DENY or playdown the dangers and addictions associated with marijuana use?

I agree with decriminalization but have been continually disappointed
in not finding groups willing to push solid plans to replace it with.

I see plenty of people making arguments AGAINST the problems,
but I wanted to collaborate on SOLUTIONS.

2. Is there any Candidate or Leader pushing for criminal justice reform
to free up funds to support a State or Party system of covering health care?

This can be any angle, from decriminalization to save state resources, or replacing the death penalty, or managing work programs that don't abuse prison labor but cover costs of prisons.

I was very excited to find a group called RAMP - Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition.
But was disappointed there wasn't enough push to replace ACA with other means of funding more effective health care to address simultaneous issues.

Is this just too much to combine problems under one solution? Are groups just better off addressing criminal reform, health reform, and immigration reform SEPARATELY?

I thought it was more like a Rubik's cube where you can't solve one side of the puzzle without solving all of them. Is there any group, leader or proposed solution offering to resolve several issues at once, or is that too much for people to process?

Just wondering if I'm the weird one here, the oddball out who can't seem to
separate the trees from the forest. thanks for any referrals. I feel lost in the woods, if anyone can point me in the right direction!

There are groups out there. But the reason that you don't see them is because the current push has zip to do with it. It's all about the cash. They don't give a damn about resolving any issues. They just saw profit and wanted their cut.

How do we know this? They don't address the actual issues or problems. What's the penalty for dealing without a license? Where is the poverty factor? Nothing. If I could go back in time and kick the moron that started the but marijuana is better than alcohol argument-I would. That's a circle jerk right there.

That said, there are groups that are out there:
Harm reduction method
What is harm reduction? | Harm Reduction International
Principles of Harm Reduction - Harm Reduction Coalition

 

[Pogo]

The War on Drugs is an effort by Neocons and Progressives to keep as many black people in jail as possible, denying their ability to vote and bear firearms.

Uhh.... yyyeaah, sure. That's why it was started by that Neocon "Progressive", Richard Nixon.

So you're saying only black people use drugs?

Wacko.

Did he state that? For someone that is always touting that words have meaning, nothing he stated would lead to that conclusion at all...

Read much? Wanna see it again?

an effort... to keep as many black people in jail as possible

Now think about it: why would a law making something illegal keep black people specifically in jail, unless the wag thought black people were the users thereof?

Yours,
Captain Obvious

And before you go to the old disproportionate-arrest well, true as it is, that approach is in no way specific to drugs; or to state another way, you don't need a specifically drug law to do that. Ergo poster busted. He's pushing stereotypes that have no basis. Moreover the poster has a history of living his own comic book fantasies in direct defiance of reality -- witness his obsession where every topic ultimately morphs into firearms, even here in a topic that has absolutely nothing to do with firearms. The guy is a fallacy hunter's gold mine.

 

[thanatos144]

The world is ramping up for WWIII but this is what you guys are worried about..... Lord protect us from fools like these.

 

[ClosedCaption]

Please dont engage Katz on this subject. She literally makes it up as she goes and overstates for seemingly no reason