RE: RE: 1 Down, 100s to Go!
Steve says:
"OK, so what do we do about the guy who grows his own pot and gives it to all the little neighborhood kiddies?"
Well, probably the same thing we do about the guy who gives alcohol and tobacco products to all the little neighborhood kiddies: we don't do anything about it! We don't do anything about that because that's really not a problem, is it? And if we're not as worried about our kids getting their hands on alcohol and tobacco — two legal drugs that are mass marketed by their respective industries and sold in great quantities in our country — then worrying about the neighborhood marijuana smoker giving away his personal stash is being a bit paranoid, IMHO. Further, people generally don't make a habit of giving away things that take a lot of trouble to produce for no personal gain. Just saying.
"And what makes you think that outlawing pot sold by businesses is going to change anything?"
With no industry producing marijuana cigarettes, there will simply be no organzed mechanism to produce mass quantities of them (or to grow mass quantities of marijuana in general). If tobacco companies didn't exist in the US, I'll wager that the Americans who wanted to take the time to grow their own tobacco and make cigarettes would make enough for them to use themselves, and that's about it. Removing the vast quantities of marijuana from the streets (which is there because it’s illegality makes it profitable to sell) would most definitely make a difference in how many people chose to use it.
"Not everyone will be able to grow or interested in growing their own, so underground and black market businesses will continue to ply their wares. How would that be substantially different than the current situation?"
I disagree. Anyone who really wants to go to the trouble of growing it most likely can. Of course, now that you've eliminated the potential profits in growing and selling pot in the US — there will be hardly no demand for illegal pot when people can supply themselves legally — criminals will be forced to move into another line of business. In addition to the fact that we're not winning the war on drugs, we're inadvertently funding the activities of God knows who by allowing them to have a monopoly on the marijuana business. Eliminate the profit, and you've eliminated the business.
"OK, so what do we do about the guy who grows his own pot and gives it to all the little neighborhood kiddies?"
Well, probably the same thing we do about the guy who gives alcohol and tobacco products to all the little neighborhood kiddies: we don't do anything about it! We don't do anything about that because that's really not a problem, is it? And if we're not as worried about our kids getting their hands on alcohol and tobacco — two legal drugs that are mass marketed by their respective industries and sold in great quantities in our country — then worrying about the neighborhood marijuana smoker giving away his personal stash is being a bit paranoid, IMHO. Further, people generally don't make a habit of giving away things that take a lot of trouble to produce for no personal gain. Just saying.
"And what makes you think that outlawing pot sold by businesses is going to change anything?"
With no industry producing marijuana cigarettes, there will simply be no organzed mechanism to produce mass quantities of them (or to grow mass quantities of marijuana in general). If tobacco companies didn't exist in the US, I'll wager that the Americans who wanted to take the time to grow their own tobacco and make cigarettes would make enough for them to use themselves, and that's about it. Removing the vast quantities of marijuana from the streets (which is there because it’s illegality makes it profitable to sell) would most definitely make a difference in how many people chose to use it.
"Not everyone will be able to grow or interested in growing their own, so underground and black market businesses will continue to ply their wares. How would that be substantially different than the current situation?"
I disagree. Anyone who really wants to go to the trouble of growing it most likely can. Of course, now that you've eliminated the potential profits in growing and selling pot in the US — there will be hardly no demand for illegal pot when people can supply themselves legally — criminals will be forced to move into another line of business. In addition to the fact that we're not winning the war on drugs, we're inadvertently funding the activities of God knows who by allowing them to have a monopoly on the marijuana business. Eliminate the profit, and you've eliminated the business.
posted by Strother | 11:58 PM
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