If you are a Prohibitionist then you owe us answers to the following questions:
#1. Why do you rejoice at the fact that we have all been stripped of our 4th amendment rights and are now totally subordinate to a corporatized, despotic government with a heavily armed and corrupt, militarized police force whose often deadly intrusions into our homes and lives are condoned by an equally corrupt and spineless judiciary?
#2. Why do you wish to continue to spend $50 billion a year to prosecute and cage your fellow citizens for choosing drugs which are not more dangerous than those of which you yourself use and approve of such as alcohol and tobacco?
#3. Do you honestly expect the rest of us to look on passively while you waste another trillion dollars on this garbage policy?
#4. Why are your waging war on your own family, friends and neighbors?
#5. Why are you so complacent with the fact that our once ‘free & proud’ nation now has the largest percentage of it’s citizenry incarcerated than any other on the entire planet?
#6. Why are you helping to fuel a budget crisis to the point of closing hospitals, schools and libraries?
#7. Why do you rejoice at wasting precious resources on prohibition related undercover work while rapists and murderers walk free, while additionally, many cases involving murder and rape do not even get taken to trial because law enforcement priorities are subverted by your beloved failed and dangerous policy?
#8. Why are you such a supporter of the ‘prison industrial complex’ to the extent of endangering our own children?
#9. Will you graciously applaud, when due to your own incipient and authoritarian approach, even your own child is caged and raped?
* It is estimated that there are over 300,000 instances of prison rape a year. * 196,000 are estimated to happen to men in prison. * 123,000 are estimated to happen to men in county jail. * 40,000 are estimated to be committed against boys in either adult prisons or while in juvenile facilities or lock ups. * 5000 women are estimated to be raped in prison.
The fatal flaw of anti-drug policy is that it suppresses demand. Anyone who understands the law of supply and demand knows that this will only increase the profit of an illegal market and draw in more violent reckless men. Reducing demand is no better because it sends a lot of non-abusers to prison.
The best solution would be to do what the Swiss have done since 1994, when Zurichers closed “needle park” and began an aggressive program to offer clean opiates—even heroin—to addicts willing to register with the state. It was approved in a 2008 referendum over 2:1 to be part of Swiss health service. It pays for itself in better public health and reduced crime. Other European countries are now experimenting with similar programs.
As for the U.S., well, we have a long way to go. On a per capita basis, the Swiss have ten times as many clinics offering heroin(and methadone, of course) as the U.S. has clinics offering only methadone.
#11. Will you also applaud when your child is refused acceptance into the US Military, which may be their only entrance into a depressed job market, and their only opportunity for an advanced education, due to that unnecessary and counter-productive felony conviction?
Jesus said to do unto others as we would have them to do unto us. None of us would want our child thrown in jail with the sexual predators over marijuana. None of us would want to see an older family member’s home confiscated and sold by the police for growing a couple of marijuana plants for their aches and pains. How about $100 for a permit to grow a dozen plants? Also, check out [spam link removed. Do you really think Jesus approves of spam?] if you’d like to see some very positive material about Jesus at work in people’s lives
Hey Conservative Christian - Copy paste much?
Your second of two is the same as your first comment-
the laughable do-nothing $100.00 fee to create a Pot-Policing agency with its’ inherent & requisite governmental bureaucracy that would cost countless times what the $100.00 pittance would cover.
What happened to your classic Conservative antipathy for Big Gov’t?
Hi, QuietWoman-
Thanks for catching my copy-and-paste; I do tend to use the same basic text for a lot of my posts, plus sometimes I can’t tell if my post has actually posted (my 53-year-old fingers aren’t as clever as those of my college-age kids) ;)
As to the $100 permit: A state could choose to create a government agency to monitor the permits, or just handle it out of the same group that monitors fishing permits or home-brew alcohol permits… It would depend on how much follow-up or policing the state wanted to do, and it would probably vary from state to state. In any case, it would be a source of income, whereas in most states there is currently no cash flow to the state from the marijuana growing community. The fee-and-permit process wouldn’t need to be a big-government approach, and could certainly be set up as a lot SMALLER government approach than the current police, court, and prison process that we’re using.
Your permit/fee scenario makes no sense.
It either is one that licenses someone to do something, via the exchange of money and the entering into a use contract, whereas others who do not pay for the privilege are disallowed from doing so, or it’s money down the drain for the fools who pay, if it is just a “token” donation - with no enforcements, fines, etc. Do you really think the majority is going to pay when they don’t have to, when there is no risk or consequence not to pay? Laws would have to be created, written, implemented…Under what requirements would the permits be allocated? would you recommend that there be State Pot-Lot-tery, or should the Federal Government roll the dice?
As far as a “limited” governmental involvement in this “little fee” caper, even a token donation causes accounting to occur - public accounting - public jobs, ( And then governmental agencies involved to determine the distribution, and allocation of said monies - unless perhaps you are visualizing a big pot party at the end of the year to smoke up all the fees collected) with all the accoutrement inherent in the process.
Or maybe you are proposing a new tax: the pot-in-hand tax? I had thought that Conservatives want no mote taxes, but perhaps I am wrong…
If indeed you propose a permit, then there has to be a system for control, to ascertain that those who have paid are actually the only ones allowed to have their pot-at-hand, which no matter what you name it, is a policing agency. You reference a fishing or hunting permit/license, yet do not mention the various state and Federal level Fish & Game, Wildlife or name your tune Agencies that are the policing agencies to maintain the integrity of the permits/licenses sold, to maintain the contract for the degree of exclusive benefit entailed.
Why should Government create yet another bureaucracy to handle your proposed new regulatory procedure?
As I noted earlier, seems to me that conservative little government types should welcome the removal of the whole expensive legal/prison/life-in-ashes issues created by the enforcement of drug policies - and let it all go up in smoke.
Please be respectful and relevant. Thought-provoking. Or at least funny.
We want comments to advance the discussion and we need your help. Debate, disagree, yell (digitally) or laugh, but do it with respect.
We won't censor your comments if we don't agree with you; we want viewpoints from across the political spectrum. We're dedicated to sparking an open, active discussion. We believe people with differing opinions can spark debate and effect change.
Comments are open to registered users of TucsonSentinel.com.
Keep in mind:
A conversation involves sharing and respect. Support your viewpoint with facts, not attacks.
Ask questions. Search out answers.
Remember that being part of a community requires tolerance for differing views.
We can't ensure that all comments are based in truth. The only comments we endorse are those we write ourselves.
TucsonSentinel.com does not allow:
Hate speech. Blatantly racist, sexist or homophobic slurs or calls for violence against a particular type of person, etc. will be removed.
Obscenity & excessive cursing. Sometimes a well-placed curse word - if you're creative enough to get it past our auto-censor - can express your point in just the right way. But we say '%*$& no' to cursing for cursing's sake. And lose the explicit sexually-descriptive language. It doesn't contribute to the debate and there are plenty of other places on the Internet to find it.
Flaming. During a heated discussion, unkind words may be spoken. We can live with a certain amount of rudeness in the name of provocative conversation, but a pattern of personal attacks (name-calling, mocking, or baiting) is not acceptable nor are threatening or harassing comments. Show some respect, please.
Spam. Solicitation of products or services isn't allowed; contact us about advertising, we'd love to talk to you. Links to off-topic sites may be deleted.
Copyright or IP infringement. Lengthy quotes and violations of 'Fair Use' aren't allowed. Anything you post should be your own work.
Overposting. Don't bore people and waste electrons with identical comments on multiple stories or repetitive comments that don't advance a conversation.
Trolling, sockpuppetry, and other abusive behavior. Please don't feed the trolls and don't pretend to be someone you're not.
Gossip. Don't bring up others who can't defend themselves. We don't give out personal information; you shouldn't either.
Comments that violate these guidelines may be removed. We reserve the right to make up the rules as we go along.
Flagging
Commentors are solely responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. Users who violate these standards may lose their privileges on TucsonSentinel.com.
Sentinel editors can't read every comment. Trolls, spammers and other troublemakers can slide under the bridge. We rely on you to help maintain a healthy conversation - more than likely, you're reading these comments before the editors.
What if you see something inappropriate? Use the 'Flag' button to send it to a moderation queue. Help us out and tell us why you're reporting it; please don't report someone just because you disagree with them. Boy who cried wolf and all that. We'll take appropriate action on violations.
We will not edit comments to alter their meaning or censor comments because of political content.
We will not remove comments solely because they are heartless, cruel, coarse, foolish or just plain wrong. Your disapproval can maintain a decent signal to noise ratio. Ultimately, however, self-policing is the best method.
8 comments on this story
If you are a Prohibitionist then you owe us answers to the following questions:
#1. Why do you rejoice at the fact that we have all been stripped of our 4th amendment rights and are now totally subordinate to a corporatized, despotic government with a heavily armed and corrupt, militarized police force whose often deadly intrusions into our homes and lives are condoned by an equally corrupt and spineless judiciary?
#2. Why do you wish to continue to spend $50 billion a year to prosecute and cage your fellow citizens for choosing drugs which are not more dangerous than those of which you yourself use and approve of such as alcohol and tobacco?
#3. Do you honestly expect the rest of us to look on passively while you waste another trillion dollars on this garbage policy?
#4. Why are your waging war on your own family, friends and neighbors?
#5. Why are you so complacent with the fact that our once ‘free & proud’ nation now has the largest percentage of it’s citizenry incarcerated than any other on the entire planet?
#6. Why are you helping to fuel a budget crisis to the point of closing hospitals, schools and libraries?
#7. Why do you rejoice at wasting precious resources on prohibition related undercover work while rapists and murderers walk free, while additionally, many cases involving murder and rape do not even get taken to trial because law enforcement priorities are subverted by your beloved failed and dangerous policy?
#8. Why are you such a supporter of the ‘prison industrial complex’ to the extent of endangering our own children?
#9. Will you graciously applaud, when due to your own incipient and authoritarian approach, even your own child is caged and raped?
* It is estimated that there are over 300,000 instances of prison rape a year. * 196,000 are estimated to happen to men in prison. * 123,000 are estimated to happen to men in county jail. * 40,000 are estimated to be committed against boys in either adult prisons or while in juvenile facilities or lock ups. * 5000 women are estimated to be raped in prison.
http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/RapeInPrison.html
#10. And will you also applaud when your own child, due to an unnecessary and counter productive felony conviction, can no longer find employment?
The fatal flaw of anti-drug policy is that it suppresses demand. Anyone who understands the law of supply and demand knows that this will only increase the profit of an illegal market and draw in more violent reckless men. Reducing demand is no better because it sends a lot of non-abusers to prison.
The best solution would be to do what the Swiss have done since 1994, when Zurichers closed “needle park” and began an aggressive program to offer clean opiates—even heroin—to addicts willing to register with the state. It was approved in a 2008 referendum over 2:1 to be part of Swiss health service. It pays for itself in better public health and reduced crime. Other European countries are now experimenting with similar programs.
As for the U.S., well, we have a long way to go. On a per capita basis, the Swiss have ten times as many clinics offering heroin(and methadone, of course) as the U.S. has clinics offering only methadone.
My first sentence should have read “The fatal flaw of anti-drug policy is that it suppresses SUPPLY.”
#11. Will you also applaud when your child is refused acceptance into the US Military, which may be their only entrance into a depressed job market, and their only opportunity for an advanced education, due to that unnecessary and counter-productive felony conviction?
Jesus said to do unto others as we would have them to do unto us. None of us would want our child thrown in jail with the sexual predators over marijuana. None of us would want to see an older family member’s home confiscated and sold by the police for growing a couple of marijuana plants for their aches and pains. How about $100 for a permit to grow a dozen plants? Also, check out [spam link removed. Do you really think Jesus approves of spam?] if you’d like to see some very positive material about Jesus at work in people’s lives
Hey Conservative Christian - Copy paste much?
Your second of two is the same as your first comment-
the laughable do-nothing $100.00 fee to create a Pot-Policing agency with its’ inherent & requisite governmental bureaucracy that would cost countless times what the $100.00 pittance would cover.
What happened to your classic Conservative antipathy for Big Gov’t?
Hi, QuietWoman-
Thanks for catching my copy-and-paste; I do tend to use the same basic text for a lot of my posts, plus sometimes I can’t tell if my post has actually posted (my 53-year-old fingers aren’t as clever as those of my college-age kids) ;)
As to the $100 permit: A state could choose to create a government agency to monitor the permits, or just handle it out of the same group that monitors fishing permits or home-brew alcohol permits… It would depend on how much follow-up or policing the state wanted to do, and it would probably vary from state to state. In any case, it would be a source of income, whereas in most states there is currently no cash flow to the state from the marijuana growing community. The fee-and-permit process wouldn’t need to be a big-government approach, and could certainly be set up as a lot SMALLER government approach than the current police, court, and prison process that we’re using.
Keep smiling! Peace!
Your permit/fee scenario makes no sense.
It either is one that licenses someone to do something, via the exchange of money and the entering into a use contract, whereas others who do not pay for the privilege are disallowed from doing so, or it’s money down the drain for the fools who pay, if it is just a “token” donation - with no enforcements, fines, etc. Do you really think the majority is going to pay when they don’t have to, when there is no risk or consequence not to pay? Laws would have to be created, written, implemented…Under what requirements would the permits be allocated? would you recommend that there be State Pot-Lot-tery, or should the Federal Government roll the dice?
As far as a “limited” governmental involvement in this “little fee” caper, even a token donation causes accounting to occur - public accounting - public jobs, ( And then governmental agencies involved to determine the distribution, and allocation of said monies - unless perhaps you are visualizing a big pot party at the end of the year to smoke up all the fees collected) with all the accoutrement inherent in the process.
Or maybe you are proposing a new tax: the pot-in-hand tax? I had thought that Conservatives want no mote taxes, but perhaps I am wrong…
If indeed you propose a permit, then there has to be a system for control, to ascertain that those who have paid are actually the only ones allowed to have their pot-at-hand, which no matter what you name it, is a policing agency. You reference a fishing or hunting permit/license, yet do not mention the various state and Federal level Fish & Game, Wildlife or name your tune Agencies that are the policing agencies to maintain the integrity of the permits/licenses sold, to maintain the contract for the degree of exclusive benefit entailed.
Why should Government create yet another bureaucracy to handle your proposed new regulatory procedure?
As I noted earlier, seems to me that conservative little government types should welcome the removal of the whole expensive legal/prison/life-in-ashes issues created by the enforcement of drug policies - and let it all go up in smoke.