House passes sweeping reform bill to decriminalize marijuana

[mystery-ak]

House passes sweeping reform bill to decriminalize marijuana
By Alex Gangitano - 12/04/20 01:37 PM EST

The House on Friday passed sweeping legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, the first time either chamber of Congress has voted to decriminalize cannabis.

The measure, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment & Expungement Act, passed on a largely party-line vote of 228 to 164.

Six Democrats voted against the legislation and five Republicans voted for it. The bill faces an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled Senate.

DEVELOPING

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/528787-house-passes-sweeping-reform-bill-to-decriminalize-marijuana

[Knox27]

Excellent!

Now Trump should pardon everyone with a criminal record of possession of marijuana.  Its absurd so many people are "felons" because they wanted to smoke.

[catfish1957]

Excellent!

Now Trump should pardon everyone with a criminal record of possession of marijuana.  Its absurd so many people are "felons" because they wanted to smoke.

Don't get your hopes up Snoop Dog....    This getting passed by the Senate has a chance of near zero.

[Knox27]

Don't get your hopes up Snoop Dog....    This getting passed by the Senate has a chance of near zero.

Oh I'm painfully aware haha.  A boy can dream.  Waiting on florida to go recreational.

Planning my trip to oregon!

[Right_in_Virginia]

Oh I'm painfully aware haha.  A boy can dream.  Waiting on florida to go recreational.

Planning my trip to oregon!

Why not leave now and avoid the holiday rush? 

[Knox27]

Why not leave now and avoid the holiday rush?

Ita tough to leave when I'm in the only state i can go to the bar or club after 10 pm

[txradioguy]

Having seen the effects on a city has legalized marijuana...this is the dumbest move ever.

[libertybele]

Having seen the effects on a city has legalized marijuana...this is the dumbest move ever.

Portugal decriminalized (not legalized) drugs and addictions have gone way down.  Those caught have a choice to go through a series of rehabilitation programs; doctors, psychiatrists and social workers to help get people back to being productive members of society.  If they don't accept and go through the programs, they are incarcerated.  Those are the choices given; incarceration or rehabilitation.  I for one think it is an excellent idea.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it

https://transformdrugs.org/drug-decriminalisation-in-portugal-setting-the-record-straight/

[corbe]

   Another slippery slope folks, and I partake.

[Knox27]

Its difficult to separate correlation from causation but from what I've read, I suspect its been a positive in the states that have legalized it.

Too much literature to parse 100 percent. Or trust 100 percent.

[txradioguy]

Portugal decriminalized (not legalized) drugs and addictions have gone way down.  Those caught have a choice to go through a series of rehabilitation programs; doctors, psychiatrists and social workers to help get people back to being productive members of society.  If they don't accept and go through the programs, they are incarcerated.  Those are the choices given; incarceration or rehabilitation.  I for one think it is an excellent idea.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it

https://transformdrugs.org/drug-decriminalisation-in-portugal-setting-the-record-straight/

Good for them.

Colorado has seen increases in crime...homelessness...over doses and...wait for it...larger and larger drug busts by state a federal DEA agents because the cartels aren't about to give up their turf.

Denver took it one step further and legalized magic mushrooms.

Look at what is happening in the Pacific Northwest...look at what they just legalized.

Pot was the camel's nose under the tent flap up there.

[txradioguy]

Its difficult to separate correlation from causation but from what I've read, I suspect its been a positive in the states that have legalized it.

It's not difficult if you actually look past the pro pot propaganda at the facts.  And no it's not been positive.

A recently released report by the Colorado Health Department indicated 400 percent increase in children zero to nine exposed to high potency pot products, meaning poisoned by them, ingesting them, going to the hospital. Hospitalizations have risen 200 percent since legalization happened there. The report also found children ages 1 to 13 in 32,800 homes were exposed to second-hand marijuana smoke.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/04/legalizing-pot-doesnt-come-without-societal-costs-just-look-at-colorado-anti-marijuana-advocate-says.html

Pot grown illegally on public lands — an indicator for the size of the black market — also is on the rise with 80,926 plants seized in 2017, a 73 percent increase in five years.

Organized crime cases almost tripled in five years, increasing to 119 in 2017 from 31 in 2012.

The types of charges associated with COCCA filings that increased most were manufacturing of marijuana or marijuana products (25 to 142) and possession of marijuana with intent to sell (32 to 124).

The prevalence of marijuana or marijuana‐in‐combination identified by Patrol officers as the impairing substance increased from 12% of all DUIs in 2014 to 15% in 2017.

In 2016, the most recent data available, 27,244 cases were filed in court that included a charge of driving under the influence; 17,824 of these were matched with either a breath or blood

Of these, 3,946 had blood samples screened for the presence of marijuana: 2,885 cases (73.2%) had a positive cannabinoid screen and a follow‐up confirmation for other cannabis metabolites, and 47.5% detected Delta‐9 THC at 5.0 ng/mL or above.

According to CDOT, the number of fatalities in which a driver tested positive for Delta‐9 THC at or above the 5.0 ng/mL level declined from 52 (13% of all fatalities) in 2016 to 35 in 2017 (8% of all fatalities).

The number of fatalities with cannabinoid‐only or cannabinoid‐in‐combination positive drivers increased 153%, from 55 in 2013 to 139 in 2017.

Rates of hospitalization with possible marijuana exposures increased steadily from 2000 through 2015.

The number of adults who use marijuana increased between 2014 and 2017, with men getting high more often than women and young adults ages 18 to 25 the most frequent users.

It's put an increased strain on hospitals in the state as well.

Hospitalization rates (per 100,000 hospitalizations) with possible marijuana exposures, diagnoses, or billing codes increased from 803 per 100,000 before commercialization (2001‐2009) to 2,696 per 100,000 after commercialization (January 2014‐September 2015). The period from October 2015‐December 2015 indicated another increase, but due to changes in coding systems, variable structures, and policies at CHA, the numbers for 2016 are considered preliminary by CDPHE.

The period of retail commercialization showed an increase in emergency department visits, from 739 per 100,000 ED visits (2010–2013) to 913 per 100,000 ED visits (January 2014–September 2015). There was no definitive trend during the period October 2015‐ December 2015 and, due to changes in coding systems, variable structures, and policies at CHA, these figures for 2016 are considered preliminary by CDPHE.

https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/docs/reports/2018-SB13-283_Rpt.pdf

Oh and let's not forget the homeless:

A new survey in Colorado suggests that more than one-third of homeless jail inmates who have come to the state since 2012 have come, at least in part, because of legal marijuana.

<snip>

Tom Luehrs, the executive director of Denver's St. Francis Center, said he doesn't need a survey to know that marijuana has drawn more transient people to Denver and through the doors of his homeless shelter.
"We've seen that over the past several years," he said, adding a lack of solid research has made it easy for skeptics to ignore the issue.
Luehrs said his shelter did its own informal research that confirmed that marijuana is a driving factor in attracting homeless people to the city in many cases.
"We're caring for people that other states are not caring for," he said, though he is optimistic that marijuana legalization in other states will shift some of the burden elsewhere.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/03/us/colorado-survey-suggests-legal-marijuana-attracting-homeless/index.html

Too much literature to parse 100 percent. Or trust 100 percent.

That's a cop out.  You just don't want to read or have to face anything that bursts your little Liberal bubble.

[libertybele]

Good for them.

Colorado has seen increases in crime...homelessness...over doses and...wait for it...larger and larger drug busts by state a federal DEA agents because the cartels aren't about to give up their turf.

Denver took it one step further and legalized magic mushrooms.

Look at what is happening in the Pacific Northwest...look at what they just legalized.


Pot was the camel's nose under the tent flap up there.

Big difference between decriminalizing and legalizing.

[txradioguy]

Big difference between decriminalizing and legalizing.

Colorado legalized it.

And if you can't see how one (decriminalization) leads to the other (legalization)...well then I don't know what to do about your blindness.

[txradioguy]

Data from the Colorado Department of Education show that that drug suspension rates increased from 391 (per 100,000 registered students) in the 2008‐09 school year to 551 in 2010‐ 11. The drug suspension rate fluctuated somewhat since then and was 507 in the 2017‐18 school year. The drug expulsion rate was 65 (per 100,000 registered students) in the 2008‐09 school year, increasing to 91 in 2010‐11, and then decreasing to 38 by 2017‐18.

School discipline data for 2017‐18 indicated that marijuana accounted for 22% of all expulsions and 24% of all law enforcement referrals in Colorado public schools.

https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/docs/reports/2018-SB13-283_Rpt.pdf

[corbe]

   Personally my supple chain gets disrupted from time to time but that's still no reason to get the GOVT involved and screw it all up.
Living in Texas does have it's advantages.

[rustynail]

Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
·
11m
The marijuana bill:

Imposes new taxes, creates new federal crimes, creates new offices & programs at existing federal agencies, and in general gives federal government executive branch bureaucrats almost unlimited power to issue whatever regulations and rules they so choose.

[txradioguy]

Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
·
11m
The marijuana bill:

Imposes new taxes, creates new federal crimes, creates new offices & programs at existing federal agencies, and in general gives federal government executive branch bureaucrats almost unlimited power to issue whatever regulations and rules they so choose.

More levels of bureaucracy...more opportunities for the Federal government to control our lives.

[Knox27]

It's not difficult if you actually look past the pro pot propaganda at the facts.  And no it's not been positive.

That's a cop out.  You just don't want to read or have to face anything that bursts your little Liberal bubble.

Id love an explanation of how it is a conservative/liberal issue.

And you're being intellectually dishonest.  There are a lot of studies and don't pretend you have read them all.  You quote some stats  that support your view but you won't quote findings that oppose it.  I can guess what you googled...Rate stats have to be viewed in context of larger trends, and not all crimes or hospitalizations or societal changes from legalization are equal.  A laundry list won't get it done. 

Be honest about looking for facts that fit your preexisting notions. That's where you are on the debate.  Pot calling the kettle black.

[mountaineer]

More levels of bureaucracy...more opportunities for the Federal government to control our lives.

And somehow they'll make sure to know who's "legally" using pot, just in case they need to seize his guns sometime.

[txradioguy]

Id love an explanation of how it is a conservative/liberal issue.

A Conservative understands why it is a Conservative/Liberal issue.

And you're being intellectually dishonest.

Hardly. 

There are a lot of studies and don't pretend you have read them all.  You quote some stats  that support your view but you won't quote findings that oppose it.  I can guess what you googled...Rate stats have to be viewed in context of larger trends, and not all crimes or hospitalizations or societal changes from legalization are equal.  A laundry list won't get it done.

 

You have no clue what I googled or what studies I have and haven't read.  I've been following this issue since before you knew what the internet was.  This isn't a new issue...this has been a debate about the pros and cons for almost two decades.  I've read the pot lobbyist "studies"...all of the talking points from NORML that I'm sure you are well versed in and I've seen the ground truth from a state that's legalized it as well as having family members with addiction issues.

I don't need to quote findings that oppose what I posted...because I have you to be the voice of the Pot lobby to tell us how much better life will be if we just legalized marijuana.

Be honest about looking for facts that fit your preexisting notions. That's where you are on the debate.  Pot calling the kettle black.

Nice try n00b.  There's no double standard here.  Hell you yourself admitted you haven't read anything on it...so any fingers you're pointingis being done in a mirror.

 But at the end of the day...I'm more balanced in my observations on my worst day about this issue than you will ever be.

[txradioguy]

And somehow they'll make sure to know who's "legally" using pot, just in case they need to seize his guns sometime.

Nailed it.   

[Knox27]

A Conservative understands why it is a Conservative/Liberal issue.
 
 

Nice try n00b.  There's no double standard here.  Hell you yourself admitted you haven't read anything on it...so any fingers you're pointingis being done in a mirror.

 But at the end of the day...I'm more balanced in my observations on my worst day about this issue than you will ever be.

I understand govt intrusion when it tells me I cant smoke a plant.  Is that conservative?

Please show me where I said I hadn't read anything.

[txradioguy]

I understand govt intrusion when it tells me I cant smoke a plant.  Is that conservative?

Way to dumb down the whole issue to a completely moronic level.

This is why you get the responses from people that you do.

Please show me where I said I hadn't read anything.

Ok...

Too much literature to parse 100 percent. Or trust 100 percent.

[Knox27]

@txradioguy

Still waiting for you to show me where I said I hadn't read anything.  You've shown me where I admitted I had not read *everything*.