Pro-marijuana ad pushes pot as Calif. budget fix

This image taken from a television commercial and provided Wednesday, July 8, 2009 by the Marijuana Policy Project shows Nadene Herndon of Fair Oaks, Calif.

[West Valley Dave Smith]

If this happened it would be a real economic boon... to the Kraft Foods Co. and other makers of macaroni and cheese and similar products. Munchies will reign! We will be inundated, not by Mexicans and Central Americans, but by Jamaicans! Oh yes, mon! I and I pray to the ganja and the great god Hailie Selassie, mon!

[Barry Dingle]

Only Organized Crime will flourish under this plan, like the Netherlands for example.

[cincin]

I, too, agree with legalizing pot and taxing it. I also think prostitution should be legalize. We need to eliminate these items as crimes and come up with new revenue streams.

[mama bunny]

I think it should be taxed just like alcohol (which is a lot worse for you, but yet it's sold in grocery stores, not in pharmacies with blacked out windows)....and hold up just a minute? There's a flippin' school that teaches you how to grow marijuana?!

[Freak]

State Calif Should Grow 40000 acres of meds,or sell the use of some land so i can do it or you then we pay taxes on all that,good for the planted,good for funds help calif out some tuff times,plus the taxes on all the co/ops running would be an insane amount of funds to keep things running,Peace............Just a thought..

[i wonder]

this would be good tax money for the needy state of calif...!!

[Lay Jeno]

West Valley Dave Smith wrote:

If this happened it would be a real economic boon... to the Kraft Foods Co. and other makers of macaroni and cheese and similar products. Munchies will reign! We will be inundated, not by Mexicans and Central Americans, but by Jamaicans! Oh yes, mon! I and I pray to the ganja and the great god Hailie Selassie, mon!

Funny comment on the Kraft thing.

[XK10H]

pot ,prostitution, and gambling, should all be legal and taxed..Nevada doesnt even have or need a state tax..

[raitchison]

Barry Dingle wrote:

Only Organized Crime will flourish under this plan, like the Netherlands for example.

Because organized crime and gangs are dooing soo poorly selling drugs now.

Decriminalization would end the drug war in Mexico overnight.

[Smiley]

My God, you think that if you leagalize pot, organized crime is going to go away? Like it did when alcohol was made legal with the passage of the 21st ammendment.

They are organized crime, they will find a way to make money. Perhaps you wish a return to protection fees for small businesses?

The Netherlands did this about 20 years ago. They are now seriously considering passing legislation making pot illegal again.

Wrong thing to do.

You want to raise revenue, repeal Prop 13 for businesses. They need to pay their fair share too.

[carl]

It is hard to be heard when the media is selective about the news they present, and when people like Ed Reyes , the leader of the committee that oversees medical marijuana in Los Angeles county, and Council President Eric Garcetti beleive that the "People feel undersiege" by the medical marijuana dispenseries in Los Angeles. They are aslo quoted as saying that " ...the rash of establishments have created a negative impact in our communities.." (L.A. Times, L.A. closes loophole for medical marijuana dispensaries June 10, 2009). Where do they get there facts? Why are people in power of a voter approved law that don't agree with the law and want to undemine the wishes of the people. The people of Los Angeles that want there medical marijuana need to create social pressure on these council men and try to disrupt and block their re-election.

[Bureaucratic Mess]

She has the hips of a retired state employee.

But I absolutely agree with her. Prohibition is a farce and failure. Organized crime syndicates love prohibition. Law enforcement and the justice system love prohibition. But prohibition is an expensive boondoggle for taxpayers and society. We've had decades of this phony war and the problem has only gotten worse.

CA and its cities don't bother to enforce federal immigration laws so why are we paying to enforce federal drug laws?

I agree with XK10H above, decriminalize pot, prostitution and gambling. And I go a step further and advocate decriminalization of all drugs. Let the market take care of it and allow legitimate businesses to profit.

Government should merely tax it and regulate it. For example, regulate that drugs and vices be away from children and residential neighborhoods.

Use the tax revenues and cost savings to fight real crime, fund treatment programs for addicts, and educate people as to the harm that these vices really do cause society.

[Bureaucratic Mess]

Smiley wrote:

My God, you think that if you leagalize pot, organized crime is going to go away? Like it did when alcohol was made legal with the passage of the 21st ammendment.
They are organized crime, they will find a way to make money. Perhaps you wish a return to protection fees for small businesses?
The Netherlands did this about 20 years ago. They are now seriously considering passing legislation making pot illegal again.
Wrong thing to do.
You want to raise revenue, repeal Prop 13 for businesses. They need to pay their fair share too.

Your arguments are moronic so you should go away.

You must be a government bureaucrat because only they advocate any repeal of the very fair Prop 13. Discriminating against businesses will only drive more out of the state and force higher prices on Californians.

You clearly don't have any solid understanding of history because you should know that organized crime really thrived in the USA with the enactment of alcohol prohibition. It's thriving now with drug prohibition.

There are some considering repealing lenient drug laws in Holland but it won't happen and it's only being considered because they want to keep out the foreigners who travel there to partake. If all of Europe repealed prohibition then Holland wouldn't have a problem.

[west valley]

of course it should be legailzed and taxed. prohibition doesn't stop anyone from doing drugs, especially marijuana. anyone whos will to pay a couple hundred dollars for a medical card or knows someone who works at a clinic can already buy it at a dispensary. theres no reason not to just make it official and get tax money. besides, if anything, thisll make it harder for kids to get it, pot was much easier to come by in high school than alcohol was

[carl]

Smiley wrote:

My God, you think that if you leagalize pot, organized crime is going to go away? Like it did when alcohol was made legal with the passage of the 21st ammendment.
They are organized crime, they will find a way to make money. Perhaps you wish a return to protection fees for small businesses?
The Netherlands did this about 20 years ago. They are now seriously considering passing legislation making pot illegal again.
Wrong thing to do.
You want to raise revenue, repeal Prop 13 for businesses. They need to pay their fair share too.

Netherlands is only looking to modify the zoning laws not make marijuana illegal(MSNBC,Pot inc. 2009).

[Smiley]

Bureaucratic Mess wrote:

<quoted text>
You clearly don't have any solid understanding of history because you should know that organized crime really thrived in the USA with the enactment of alcohol prohibition. It's thriving now with drug prohibition.

I don't understand history? You are mistaken sir! Yes, organized crime flourished during prohibition. Yes, it is thriving again with drugs, but it never went away.

When organized crime doesn't have other avenues to make it's money, it starts shaking down those same businesses you are afraid of losing with the repeal of Prop 13.

Personally, if I have to pay protection money, I'd rather it be to the government rather than the mafia.

The point I was trying to make earlier is that as long as you can keep organized crime in areas of sin, they will for the most part leave the racketeering at a minimum.

When gang bangers start shooting at each other, they tend to hit their intended target. Occasionally, they miss and hit an innocent and only then do the newsies start covering the story.

What will leagalizing pot accomplish? Do you advocate leagalizing coke, crystal meth, heroin too? If not, then you have done nothing to stop organized crime and you have sent a terrible message to the kids that smoking pot is no worse than drinking alcohol and we know how many kids do that.

You want to raise revenue for the state, great, but can't you find a better way to do that than to legalize pot?

Besides, don't the people who buy from the collectives have to pay sales tax? How much money is that generating. How hard is it to get a perscription? Haven't we already legalized and taxed it? What's the buget deficit now?

[Woody]

Man made alcohol, God made marijuana, who are YOU going to trust. I agree with XK10H, lets keep the states money with in the state of Calif. Fact is pot is smoked, prostitution is a business, where people make money, and gambling takes place daily, why shouldn't the state take this into consideration, and help with the budget. What is the state going to do? Wait till Missouri, shows us the way.

[brandi]

I think it would be good for cali... the state could profit very well from it.

[Bureaucratic Mess]

Smiley wrote:

<quoted text>
I don't understand history? You are mistaken sir! Yes, organized crime flourished during prohibition. Yes, it is thriving again with drugs, but it never went away.
When organized crime doesn't have other avenues to make it's money, it starts shaking down those same businesses you are afraid of losing with the repeal of Prop 13.
Personally, if I have to pay protection money, I'd rather it be to the government rather than the mafia.
The point I was trying to make earlier is that as long as you can keep organized crime in areas of sin, they will for the most part leave the racketeering at a minimum.
When gang bangers start shooting at each other, they tend to hit their intended target. Occasionally, they miss and hit an innocent and only then do the newsies start covering the story.
What will leagalizing pot accomplish? Do you advocate leagalizing coke, crystal meth, heroin too? If not, then you have done nothing to stop organized crime and you have sent a terrible message to the kids that smoking pot is no worse than drinking alcohol and we know how many kids do that.
You want to raise revenue for the state, great, but can't you find a better way to do that than to legalize pot?
Besides, don't the people who buy from the collectives have to pay sales tax? How much money is that generating. How hard is it to get a perscription? Haven't we already legalized and taxed it? What's the buget deficit now?

Good grief. You really have a problem with logic. I don't even know where to start with you because you're so confused.

Smoking pot IS less dangerous and disruptive to society! It's also far less addictive than booze. The hypocrisy legalizing booze while keeping drugs illegal is glaring.

Decriminalizing drugs doesn't meat that we stop teaching kids that they're harmful and dangerous! Like I said, we can use the tax revenues to fund BETTER anti-drug education.

YES, I already have advocated decriminalizing ALL drugs and vices -- can't you read? Morons already are abusing meth and other dangerous and vile drugs. They even use them in prisons where they're readily available as our high-priced government prison guards look the other way and even facilitate deliveries.

If you are so terrified of allowing a free market to allow progress to thrive and blindly trust in government, you really should consider immigrating to China or North Korea.

[Barry Dingle]

raitchison wrote:

<quoted text>
Because organized crime and gangs are dooing soo poorly selling drugs now.
Decriminalization would end the drug war in Mexico overnight.

I don't care ! I only remember growing up in The 1960's, as a kid. watching Alcoholics and Drug people and knowing how Dangerous they were to me and having to hide my Personal Property and Body Parts. Most of the people from this time are Vegebles now. At least they act that way