Another important "Libertarian" argument is that there are already too many unenforceable laws on the books which the police/politicians can selectively enforce for reasons other than the stated socially beneficial purpose. Like police targeting women for pot to extort sex. Get a cop drunk and ask him about it if you don't believe it. Ma…
Another important "Libertarian" argument is that there are already too many unenforceable laws on the books which the police/politicians can selectively enforce for reasons other than the stated socially beneficial purpose. Like police targeting women for pot to extort sex. Get a cop drunk and ask him about it if you don't believe it. Marijuana use didn't thwart the career of Barack Obama, he didn't let it interfere with his choices and he was pretty successful. But others limited their choices because they worried about persecution. They won't apply for a job because there might be a drug-test. My grandfather went broke during Prohibition because he complied with the law and switched over his Chicago brewery from beer to malted milk, while Busch went to Canada and continued to brew beer. Except for his devotion to obedience to the law, I might have been born into a wealthy family. So, now the girls "vape" their pot so the cops can't smell the smoke...Prohibition is not the answer. What happened when they threatened to prohibit "assault weapons" and "Hi-cap mags"? Thousands of "assault weapons" (with hi-cap mags and billions of rounds of ammo) are out in circulation now that wouldn't have been had they never done it. It turned a previously sleepy market into a "must-have" feeding frenzy amongst people who have absolutely no use for the product- or even know how to use the product. They had to gear up production to meet the increased demand. You can't change anything without it affecting everything. As with lotteries, taxing marijuana gets to be one more regressive tax on a long menu which bleed the poor/ignorant and spare the rich. But people claim regulation benefits the poor! It's all smoke and mirrors.
"people claim regulation benefits the poor! It's all smoke and mirrors."
I'll put regulated legalization up against the "regulations" of arrest, convictions, random workplace drug tests, denial of student loans and scholarships, coerced rehabiliation based only on a possession plea, etc., any day.
Another important "Libertarian" argument is that there are already too many unenforceable laws on the books which the police/politicians can selectively enforce for reasons other than the stated socially beneficial purpose. Like police targeting women for pot to extort sex. Get a cop drunk and ask him about it if you don't believe it. Marijuana use didn't thwart the career of Barack Obama, he didn't let it interfere with his choices and he was pretty successful. But others limited their choices because they worried about persecution. They won't apply for a job because there might be a drug-test. My grandfather went broke during Prohibition because he complied with the law and switched over his Chicago brewery from beer to malted milk, while Busch went to Canada and continued to brew beer. Except for his devotion to obedience to the law, I might have been born into a wealthy family. So, now the girls "vape" their pot so the cops can't smell the smoke...Prohibition is not the answer. What happened when they threatened to prohibit "assault weapons" and "Hi-cap mags"? Thousands of "assault weapons" (with hi-cap mags and billions of rounds of ammo) are out in circulation now that wouldn't have been had they never done it. It turned a previously sleepy market into a "must-have" feeding frenzy amongst people who have absolutely no use for the product- or even know how to use the product. They had to gear up production to meet the increased demand. You can't change anything without it affecting everything. As with lotteries, taxing marijuana gets to be one more regressive tax on a long menu which bleed the poor/ignorant and spare the rich. But people claim regulation benefits the poor! It's all smoke and mirrors.
"people claim regulation benefits the poor! It's all smoke and mirrors."
I'll put regulated legalization up against the "regulations" of arrest, convictions, random workplace drug tests, denial of student loans and scholarships, coerced rehabiliation based only on a possession plea, etc., any day.
That's the status quo you're arguing for.