the jamcruise bust......

[jocelyn]

Well, can\'t feel TOOOO bad for him. Heroin is def. where I draw the line.

I suppose that\'s kind of stupid, saying some drugs are ok on the boat and others are not. Nonsensical knee-jerk reaction I guess. Atleast I know I\'m a hypocrite.

[melanie]

its not my taste, but if he\'s a dentist he\'s obviously not ripping people off or robbing convenience stores to get it, it doesnt sound like hes trafficking or selling, and if he can still do the job without killing people then who are we to decide, is my opinion.  why f%^ w/people with jobs that contribute to society and arent out there harming anyone?

[skalnbyc]

I will never be able to understand why chasing a plant needs to be a multibillion dollar (or more?) priority.  

I am wondering what the long-term trend will be.

My dad seems to think that it wasn\'t as big a deal back in the day when he was growing up in Oakland, CA.  He said that all his friends that grew pot in the 60\'s probably wouldn\'t have been punished as severly as someone getting caught now.

[Blackieshamps]

man, a lot of people had something to say about this one.,.. i dont usually post, but im glad most of you guys sees the event as being unfortunat and i hope you all can sympathize with the ones who got nabbed.  it sucks.  and it really hurts me personally to hear people finding amusement from this event. these cats who got popped gotta go thru fuckin hell now.  in march i go to prison in CT on drug charges, its not some joke.  i guess im really late in saying all this as it has been said already, but iread thje thread late and i couldnt help responding, just remember, if you break the law it could be you, and whether you are a doctor, dealer, insurance salesman, painter, musician there is no social equalizer like a mugshot

[oldnewbie]

Originally posted by alexanderzurflu
I will never be able to understand why chasing a plant needs to be a multibillion dollar (or more?) priority.  


multibillion dollars is exactly the reason. the tobacco industry and the liquor industry pours so much money into lobbying to keep pot illegal, that the idea of legalizing it isn\'t something that the recipients (congressmen and senators) will ever consider while they are still able to receive this "stipend". no taxes levied would make up for this tremendous amount of "legal" bribery. also, the law enforcement agencies in this country have gotten very used to fueling their budgets with the "war on drugs". if this gravy train was denied to them, they might have to actually go out and chase real criminals instead of focusing on non violent drug offenders. they continually use propaganda and half truths to keep the people of this country misinformed on this issue. the resources used to chase this plant could and should be redirected to the social ills in this country that will ultimately lead to it\'s demise (homelessness, medical insurance, hunger, etc...) instead, after ruining the lives of a few people who are hurting NOBODY, they pat themselves on the back and tell each other what a great job they are doing.

[jocelyn]

One also has to consider the fact that they are very unlikely to ever legalize marijuana seeing as it would be virtually impossible to tax. They can make gazillions taxing tobacco; it is hardly feasible for you or I to run a plantation and thus we must buy butts/rolling tobacco/whatever from stores. It is no big deal to grow enough grass, however, to keep oneself happy. Since most would just grow it themselves, and not buy it from stores, if it were legal, it would be nearly impossible to tax. Not very profitable.

[oldnewbie]

there is a state that ALREADY DOES tax it. i think it is tennessee but i may be wrong. if you are caught with a bag that doesn\'t have a tax stamp on it, you are charged with that offense as well. if you "do the right thing" and pay that tax, you wave a big flag that says here i am. talk about double jeopardy. it\'s another case of people not caring about something that doesn\'t affect them no matter how discriminating it is.

[oldnewbie]

damn....if i told freddie to bite me i would get responses all day...but when i sit and actually form a litterate and well thought out post.....practically nothing. :confused:

[freddiewaht]

i think that points were pretty well made,some were pretty well taken,friendships were ruined,and most people are all still pissy....

[jocelyn]

Originally posted by oldnewbie
there is a state that ALREADY DOES tax it. i think it is tennessee but i may be wrong. if you are caught with a bag that doesn\'t have a tax stamp on it, you are charged with that offense as well. if you "do the right thing" and pay that tax, you wave a big flag that says here i am. talk about double jeopardy. it\'s another case of people not caring about something that doesn\'t affect them no matter how discriminating it is.

Well that is similar to how they first started nabbing people with pot. Before they were able to get enough initiative to outlaw it, Aslinger devised a plan where you had to have a tax stamp to have pot. Thing is, if you went in to get the tax stamp, the only way you were able to get it was if you had the pot in hand. If you went in to get the stamp, with the pot in hand, you had pot with no stamp and you had broken the law. So you get arrested. This ingenious little idea was originally used with machine guns (remember this was during the gangster era) and then was adjusted to work for marijuana as well.