I awoke this morning seeing this first in Hono..

[mdd7000]

Sorry, LeeE. I was jumping the gun - normally, its' the weed promoters that do the bait and switch comparing alcohol to it when they get backed into a corner. I understand what you are getting at though.

[peregrine]

Radiopeg, My sentiments exactly. The problem is getting from here to there.

[Greg]

Moved from the "political section":

A Marijuana permit should be issued for a fee of say, $50 a year. This would enable an adult to grow up to a dozen or so mature female plants at a time. Penalties would remain for driving under the influence, or for providing marijuana to children.

1. The revenue generated from the permit would be a source of income for the county.

2. The county would save hundreds of thousands of dollars by abandoning futile eradication attempts.

3. The price of Marijuana would plummet locally as the demand is relaxed, takng the criminal element out of the picture and making it unprofitable to grow massive amounts. (People shipping pot would still have to answer to the feds)

4. Criminal activity with the goal of getting drugs would be greatly reduced.

5. Demand for ice would drop with pot readily available for cheap or free.

6. Potato chip sales would skyrocket.

[Bob Orts]

and once again, medical marijuana can't get a chanced to stand on it's own without being corrupted by the need for recreational use....[V]

[Greg]

I agree that the medical marijuana issue is being corrupted by the recreational users. I know several folks that have gotten certificates and told of being "coached" by the MD's to use key words like "pain" and "insomnia" in their applications.

The recreational people are the "elephant in the room" though. I don't smoke anymore, but had no hesitation in lighting up thirty years ago with a multitude of others, in places like Texas, which had up to "life" sentences for possession.

Is prohibition putting a dent in recreational use? Or is prohibition it's own profitible industry keeping prices high and sustaining Law enforcement and Prison corporations?

If recreational use were allowed, the medical issues would be resolved, but it doesn't work the other way around.

[LeeE]

md, No worries. Mahalo.

This is such a great site with excellent contributors. It's a pleasure and a great learning experience to sit back and read what folks post here.

[LeeE]

Greg, "...Is prohibition putting a dent in recreational use? Or is prohibition it's own profitible industry keeping prices high and sustaining Law enforcement and Prison corporations?"

You nailed it. It's a price support system for the black market, mostly in the white powders.

The UN just released a report saying that the only thing propping up many large western banks is that they are swimming in laundered drug money. It's at least a trillion dollar industry in artificially boosted profits thanks to the tough on drugs prohibition laws. According the a former Undersecretary of Commerce, the large corporations on Wall Street are also laundering huge amounts of illegal drug money. Prohibition causes our communities to be used as dumping grounds for massive amounts of hard drugs that would be worth almost nothing in a legal, regulated environment.

I like the taste of oranges and eat them regularly. They contain vitamin C, which helps keep me healthy. Am I a recreational orange eater or a medical orange eater?

I also like the niacin flush and take it for the niacin high or flush. If something makes you feel good and protects your health, then the distinction between "recreational" and medical use becomes mostly meaningless.

Hemp? Let's try letting adults in a free society responsibly do whatever they want with it.

[Beachboy]

listen, I give a rat's ass about who medically legal or not! That's not my concern, nor should it be anyone's elses business either. What should concern medical users is what now? How did all three of these bills stall or die when they were flying thru. Who paid for DA's from California to come speak to our lawmakers on Maui and in Honolulu? It really pisses me off that that happened

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Let's get together and over grow the government!!!!