What’s the worst that could happen? Marijuana is legalized- THE UW DAILY

[seattle420lover]

What’s the worst that could happen? Marijuana is legalized

What’s the worst that could happen? Marijuana is legalized
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By Jackson Rohrbaugh
May 28, 2009ShareThis
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Does marijuana have a shot at being legalized? If weed was suddenly made legal, there would be parties in the streets and green banners hung from windows and rafters everywhere in Seattle.


In a recent KOMO news story, a Wallingford man was robbed by four men posing as FBI agents on a drug raid. They made off with several pounds of the green booty and left him dazed and confused. The police responded to his robbery call and in the process, found dozens of marijuana plants in his house. They took it upon themselves to cart off his crops.

If I were the police, I’d be more concerned about fake FBI agents breaking and entering than I would a home-hydroponics project. It’s a good bet that similar seizures take place on a regular basis. Even though Washington state allows medicinal possession and use of marijuana, there are no other provisions in the law. A 60-day supply is allowed for authorized users, but growing and supplying other users is a sticky web, and this is what our unscrupulous hero got caught in. He was growing quite a bit more than 60 days’ worth.

Possessing and growing more than 15 plants can net you legal challenges and penalties. So it’s quasi-legal to “spark an L” in Seattle, but if you don’t toe the line, you’ll be in trouble. I wonder what the side effects of gradual legalization would be.

Would every day turn into a solstice parade? Would free-spirited Seattleites in hemp threads ride their bikes to “coffeeshops” like some American Amsterdam? Maybe every weekend would be another Bumbershoot or Folklife, and parks would host spontaneous drum circles. I think the plant is powerful enough to effect that sort of change, for better or for worse. Hempfest would either flourish or cease to exist from waning demand.

The character of marijuana is entirely different than that of other villified drugs. It doesn’t addict like meth or heroin; it has a much milder influence on the user, and it’s all natural. It’s greener than alcohol because it can be grown right in your backyard or basement.

It’s used quite a bit in Seattle. I don’t use, but I do smell it around Greenlake all the time. It’s either one guy who’s always there, or a group of people who take turns making their presence smelt. Every festival, outdoor concert and the occasional walk in the park is bound to elicit a little of that oregano and chive skunkiness as long as you’re in Seattle.

So on behalf of all the stoners out there, I think the city should reconsider its attitude toward something that grows in the earth and does very little harm to anyone. If it ever became something that contributed to crime, violence or agression, we’d have cause for concern, but I don’t think relaxing the standards on a relaxant will do that.

It helps people with chronic illness feel better, and it helps people with chronic stress chill out. It can’t be all that bad. Just do a favor to any homeowners you know with brightly lit basements and keep quiet. You may be cutting off an HIV or cancer patient’s supply of pain medication.

Reach columnist Jackson Rohrbaugh at opinion@dailyuw.com.

[seattle420lover]

is this guy forgetting the taxes that could come from marijuana legalization?
Shouldn't adult citizens have the freedom to choose what goes into their
own bodies in the privacy of their own homes?
why is acohol and ciegerettes the only legal intoxicant?

Imagine if the United States was once again the "Land of the Free"
instead of the most incarcerated nation in the history of human
civilization.

Imagine if the American people could feel safe and secure in their
own homes and on the streets of our cities and towns throughout America.

Imagine if we had no "drug-related crime." Imagine if our
overall crime rate was a small fraction of our current crime rate.

We once had such a situation here in the United States. Prior to the
passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the term "drug-related
crime" didn't exist.

And drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today,
didn't exist either.

Back then, all types of recreational drugs were legally sold to anybody
with no questions asked, for pennies per dose in grocery stores and
pharmacies.

Did we have a lot more drug addicts then compared to now? No.
We had about the same percentage of our population addicted to
drugs according to U. S. federal judge John L. Kane of Colorado.

For the sake of our children, can we re-legalize our now illegal
drugs and sell them licensed business establishments? This would
put the drug dealers and drug lords out of business overnight.

[seattle420lover]

here is a letter that a friend had sent in:

To: opinion@thedaily.was hington.edu
Date: Friday, May 29, 2009, 10:36 PM
To the Editor of The Daily:

I'm writing about Jackson Rohrbaugh's thoughtful column:
"What's the worse that could happen" (5-28-09). If
marijuana
were legalized our booming prison building industry would
come to a screeching halt. And we would have to
figure
out what to do with our closed prisons like the
Netherlands.

I suggest the readers google: "Netherlands closed
prisons."
Then the readers will see that the Dutch only have a total
of
12,000 inmates. For comparison, the United States has
a total
of greater than 2.2 million prisoners.

I also suggest that the readers visit the web site:
The Netherlands Compared With The United States | Drug War Facts the readers will
see that even though marijuana is quasi legal for adults,
they
use marijuana at less than half the rates that Americans
do.
And they use heroin at less than a third the rates that
Americans
do.

Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
(480) 396-3399

Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
Feel free to edit.

[seattle420lover]

here is the latest news from the UW.
Man falls 30 feet from fraternity window: History, causes of falls revisited - The Daily of the University of Washington
I have written letters about this before every year som teenager dies from falling out a window at the UW.
maybe alcohol should be illegal rather than buds. this happens every year when it gets warm.

[seattle420lover]

Free Speech Friday: June 5 - The Daily of the University of Washington

[1Z2Z]

this happens every year when it gets warm.

from the movie "Predator" ?

[1Z2Z]

Someone calculated the tax lost on a recent pittsburgh bust of 400 pounds to be around $80,000 .

Care to guess what it will cost to prosecute the 7 involved ?

California is losing billions...as is mexico , both of whom really could use a boost in income, for regulated farms.
And so could I .

My state is running out of unemployment (forced slavery) money, as is the fed till all that bailout money trickles down, or is paid back and deposited in one big government money pit.

Marijuana farming is a good "green" job folks, plain and simple.
It has to make sense before it can make dollars. Legalization along with reschedule of cannabis to a recreational class as is alcohol, along with funding for long term social studies into the causes or demands American society puts on it's population to initiate such a demand for all forms of chemical escape, and the abuses thereof. And furthermore there should be drafted federal "guidelines" for all states wishing to partake in this revolutionary social event.

Roach


ps...I'm feeling over stressed and under paid, so fuck spellcheck

[seattle420lover]

[QUOTE=1Z2Z;51776964]

Marijuana farming is a good "green" job folks, plain and simple.
QUOTE]

When Hops Were Picked By Hand -- 1991 Painted By Robert Thomas

If you worked from sun-up until the pitch black of nightfall, you could earn as much as three dollars a day, although most hop pickers earned a dollar and a quarter. Indians from all over the Northwest converged in the Toppenish area to hand-pick the hops. They brought along their families, cats, dogs, and chickens to make the Yakima Valley their home for the duration of the harvest. After a long day's work, they still found time to sing, dance, play stick games, and socialize with friends.

This mural inspired the building of a new park in Toppenish called Old Timers Plaza, and a second mural, "The Crossroads to Market," both adjacent to "When Hops Were Picked by Hand." This ambitious project was sponsored by various segments of the hop industry and local business.



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[Mr. Poatheed]

...I postulate that the same person has been behind all previous posts in this thread, regardless of the user name.

[Mydriasis]

I had a friend get shaken down like that at an underground rave. Fake feds and shit, made off with a large chunk of cake and put some people in danger, holding guns out and all.

Things are pretty fucked, if fake cops can make a bust real cops haven't, lol.

[seattle420lover]

it was probably friend of theirs just greedy robbers.
I had a friend killed by the pigs so I know what you mean.