Jeff Sessions ends policy that let legal pot flourish

14Red said:
Unfortunately buck the that horse is out of the barn. Alcohol yes, tobacco nah. I don't recall anyone robbing a store because of a nicotine addition. Drunk, high, yes.
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I was making fun of you and your post on the homeless when you said tobacco and alcohol are gateway drugs. I don't think either should be outlawed.
 
chs1971 said:
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha

Stoners are going to stop voting for Republicans? It is to laugh.
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It's not just "stoners" to consider. If the Republican party wants to survive long term then need to start listening to Millennials. They are more open to legalized marijuana so yes it will be political suicide to a point if Sessions and the Republican Party continues down this path.

The panic from some is unwarranted. You are always going to have some weak people who excessively use things that are bad for them. All one has to do is look at the opioid crisis to understand. This problem crosses all socio-economic lines.
 
domi said:
Interesting angle a friend of mine was arguing today. A lot of the illegal weed is grown by illegal Mexicans here in the states so by allowing federal prosecutors to go after weed growers/sellers again our gubmint in a weird way is encouraging illegal immigration.
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Maybe it's because I'm high on illegal weed grown by illegal Mexicans, but I neither find this argument interesting or correct.

Why would illegal immigrants want to come to the US to grow weed if the government is prosecuting illegal immigrants that are growing weed? Are they all petulant teenagers who do the opposite of what you tell them? Am I missing something??
 
Buck_98 said:
Maybe it's because I'm high on illegal weed grown by illegal Mexicans, but I neither find this argument interesting or correct.

Why would illegal immigrants want to come to the US to grow weed if the government is prosecuting illegal immigrants that are growing weed? Are they all petulant teenagers who do the opposite of what you tell them? Am I missing something??
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They come here to grow weed because there's a boatload of money in it and there's very little chance of getting caught growing way out in the backwoods somewhere. It's a basic business decision.
 
MoeDude said:
It's not just "stoners" to consider. If the Republican party wants to survive long term then need to start listening to Millennials. They are more open to legalized marijuana so yes it will be political suicide to a point if Sessions and the Republican Party continues down this path.
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How about we enforce the law or change the law?

It's like where I work, we have three policies for everything we do. First is the black-and-white in writing policy. Second is the verbal how we're going to interpret that policy. Third is the what we actually do policy.

Our government has become the same bad joke. We have black-and-white laws on immigration and drugs. Second we have what the politicians and bureaucrats tell us they are going to do about immigration and drugs. Finally we get the what we actually do about immigration and drugs.

How about we enforce the law or change the law?
 
domi said:
They come here to grow weed because there's a boatload of money in it and there's very little chance of getting caught growing way out in the backwoods somewhere. It's a basic business decision.
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I understand why people grow weed illegally. I don't understand why Sessions going after people growing/selling weed will make illegals want to come here. The influx of illegals has gone down since Trump took office so how will this make that number jump?
 
Law enforcement at every level is filled with decisions on what crimes to pursue and not pursue. We simply don't have the resources to aggressively pursue the enforcement of every single law, so priorities must be set. It's why you generally don't get pulled over for going 1mph over the speed limit.

I think it's reasonable to say enforcing federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the substance is one area we could deprioritize.

The best solution would be to legalize it federally, but that is unlikely to happen. Next best alternative is to let the state's law take precedent.

Sessions likely wouldn't be catching as much for this if he hadn't expressed ridiculous views on marijuana in the past(saying it's as dangerous as heroin.) It's tough to hear that statement from an otherwise intelligent man and not come to the conclusion his stance on this issue is bought and paid for.
 
Vermont legalizes recreational marijuana

Vermont will become the latest state to allow the possession of marijuana for recreational purposes under a new measure signed into law Monday by Gov. Phil Scott (R).

The measure brings the number of states where recreational marijuana is legal to seven. But the Vermont bill is notable because it is the first time a state legislature has voted to legalize the drug.

The other six states where adults may legally possess and consume marijuana — Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Nevada and California — all arrived at legalization through voter-approved ballot measures.

Massachusetts and Maine will legalize marijuana later this year after voters passed ballot initiatives in 2016. The Vermont law takes effect on July 1.

“This is a milestone in the evolving politics of marijuana,” said Tom Angell, a legalization advocate who writes the Marijuana Moment newsletter.

Scott, a Republican serving his first term, vetoed a legalization bill passed by the Democratic-led state legislature last year. He cited concerns over how it was written, though he pledged to work with the legislature to address those issues before this year’s session kicked off.

The Vermont law does not go as far with legalization measures in other states. It allows adults over the age of 21 to possess an ounce of marijuana and to grow up to two of their own plants at home.

But it does not allow legal sales of marijuana, something Scott said he would veto if the legislature tried to go farther without first adding significant elements to combat young people using marijuana and to bolster traffic safety.

Scott said he signed the bill “with mixed emotions.”

In a letter to legislators, Scott said his veto of the earlier bill made clear “my reservations about a commercial system which depends on profit motive and market-driven demand for its growth.”

Scott said he would veto any additional efforts to loosen restrictions or implement a legal retail market until legislators addressed highway safety, education efforts and prevention of youth consumption.

Kevin Sabet, who heads the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said the fact that the law does not allow a retail market represents a setback to the legalization movement.

“By signing this, the Governor essentially killed any chance of full legalization,” Sabet told The Hill in an email. “In so many ways, this is a big setback for the pot industry. Vermont will be off-limits to them for the foreseeable future.”

The state legislature passed the measure by wide margins last week.

At least two other state legislatures are considering steps toward legalizing marijuana. Rhode Island’s legislature is likely to take up a bill later this year, though whether it has sufficient support to pass is unclear. In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has said he supports legalizing marijuana, though Democrats in the state legislature have raised their own objections.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/state-w...a-legalization-bill?__twitter_impression=true
 
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