Comments on: New CA pot analysis sees savings, raises questions

By: Bain Dramage

Bain Dramage — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 02:25:10 +0000

Pot use is largely a victimless crime that fills prisons and jails, empowers foreign cartels and saps time and money from more important law enforcement priorities.

That said, legalization needs to address the following:

1. Reasonable possession limits.

2. Legalized free transfers from one person to another (gifting).

3. The inalienable right to grow a certain number of plants without interference or regulations from local jurisdictions (Counties and Cities cannot ban or restrict a property owner’s or renter’s right to grow a certain number of plants for personal use).

4. Workplace safeguards covering both employer and employee (you can be fired for showing up for work under the influence, but you cannot be fired on Monday for smoking a joint Saturday night).

5. Medically reasonable DUI testing that do NOT test for metabolites, but rather for THC levels in the blood (as of today blood tests for THC levels are the only accurate measure – but this will change).

6. A ceiling on taxes (both state and local) so that state and local authorities cannot impose taxes that effectively create or further enrich the black market.

7. Medical cannabis should be sold tax-free to those who possess a physician recommendation.

8. State and local authorities cannot impose rules for dispensaries that are more prohibitive than those in place for the sale of alcohol. Zoning ordinances for cannabis sales should parallel those for alcohol sales.

9. The rules governing the consumption of cannabis cannot be more restrictive than the rules governing the consumption of alcohol. If it is legal to consume alcohol at a certain place/time then it shall be concurrently legal to consume cannabis at the same place/time.

10. A provision that requires law enforcement to compensate those who have had cannabis confiscated but who have NOT been convicted of a cannabis-related crime as a result of that confiscation. Translation: If the cops take your cannabis but that confiscation does not result in a conviction – you get compensated (in cash) full-value street price for the cannabis.

By: Scott Chipman

Scott Chipman — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 19:57:43 +0000

“could bring unexpected costs”. We spend about 120 billion dollars a year on the negative impacts of binge drinking and only take in about $9 billion in tax revenues. How many kid’s futures are we going to compromise for tax revenues. This is a faustian bargain. Legalization isn’t working in Colorado and will be even worse for CA. As Jerry Brown said, “There is a limit to how many people can be stoned and still have a great state or country.” We’ve already gone beyond that limit.

By: Bill Gore

Bill Gore — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 17:43:10 +0000

I have a koan about pot, alcohol and drugs in general: They should be totally legal and no one should do them.

Marijuana especially has been used for decades as a multi-tool by the cops. They know that approximately 20-30 % of any people pulled over will have small quantities of the stuff. And how many lives have been destroyed with felony convictions for small amounts of weed? Legalizing weed contributes to the defanging of our brutal police state.

By: Richard Rider

Richard Rider — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:59:46 +0000

While the arguments for savings on criminal prosecutions and incarceration are quite valid, the claim of TAX revenues is usually vastly overblown. If the tax is “too high,” people will grow their own, and a new criminal class will be formed — tax evaders who casually sell their in-house product to friends.

I STRONGLY favor pot legalization (though I personally don’t want to be around “groovy” people under the influence). Get the government out of the oppressive pot regulation (treat pot like alcohol) and “sin tax” business (just a normal sales tax should apply). Both savings and freedom will benefit.