'Best Congress we've ever had' for marijuana legalization, Dem says

[Elderberry]

Washington Examiner  by James Langford November 07, 2018

Whether Congressional elections were better for Democrats or Republicans may be up for debate, but they were a clear win for cannabis.

Not only did three states -- Utah, Missouri and Michigan -- legalize some usage of marijuana, voters "have given us the best Congress we've ever had" as far as easing federal restrictions on the drug, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat who captured 73 percent of the vote in his district, told reporters on Wednesday.

Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican long viewed as a major obstacle to laws easing a federal ban on marijuana, lost his bid for re-election, Blumenauer noted, and House Speaker Paul Ryan and Virginia Republican Bob Godlatte, who chaired the Judiciary Committee, didn't seek re-election.

"In terms of a victory for the continued momentum of cannabis legalization, it was a big night," said Blumenauer, who helped form the bipartisan Congressional Cannabis Caucus has introduced a bill that would drop using or selling the drug from the list of activities that disqualify foreigners from entering the U.S. "Three of the greatest obstructionists to progress are not coming back."

More: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/best-congress-weve-ever-had-for-marijuana-legalization-dem-says

[Emjay]

I wish the Republicans would not make this an issue.  It's not that important in the scheme of things and most states will make it legal in a few years.

[dfwgator]

I wish the Republicans would not make this an issue.  It's not that important in the scheme of things and most states will make it legal in a few years.

Sessions going away is more good news.

[libertybele]

I wish the Republicans would not make this an issue.  It's not that important in the scheme of things and most states will make it legal in a few years.

They need to concentrate on getting the opioid crisis under control and getting people the help they need and making rehabilitation a priority. They should have legalized pot a long time ago. 

[Frank Cannon]

Republican should have pushed for this issue under states rights and freedom. Instead they got all antsy about it. People want this let him have it. Enough with this nanny State garbage. Now the rats are smart enough to see this and they're going to push it through and use it as a campaign issue and it'll be a winning one.

[txradioguy]

Stupid and stoned...just how the Dems would prefer to keep the masses.

[Elderberry]

Stupid and stoned...just how the Dems would prefer to keep the masses.

Prohibition didn't work for alcohol. Why should it work any better for marijuana?

4 Lessons Alcohol Prohibition Should Teach Us About Cannabis

https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/cannabis-legalization-lessons-from-alcohol-prohibition

It’s difficult to predict what the next four years will look like for cannabis users. While President-elect Trump has made a number of contradictory statements on the subject of legalization, his pick for Attorney General, Sen. Jeff Sessions, holds some radical viewpoints, once claiming, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

 This isn’t the first event of this nature in U.S. history. Producing insurmountable suffering and hardship, the so-called ‘Prohibition Period’ between 1920-1933 – referring to the 13-year ban on alcohol – was largely regarded as a large-scale political failure. Cannabis prohibition has yielded similar consequences, with both events leading to an influx in organized crime, attacks on minorities, and ironically, a rise in drug use.

Recognizing the parallels between these two time periods can help us make informed decisions about the future, no matter what our political alignments may happen to be. So what lessons can we take from America’s first prohibition?

1. Crime Increases

Despite its negative reputation, alcohol prohibition was by some measures a success. The 18th amendment was popular for the majority of its duration, and Americans consumed significantly less alcohol. The benefits, however, were not without serious drawbacks. Organized crime groups thrived in territory that legitimate businesses were no longer allowed to inhabit. Prices of liquor spiked, the federal prisoner population multiplied, and the nation lost out on valuable tax dollars.

Because cannabis only became popular after it was made illegal, it’s a lot more difficult to determine exactly how much of an impact its prohibition has on crime rates. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, over 8 million Americans were arrested for cannabis-related crimes between 2001 and 2010. To this day, half of all drug arrests are marijuana-related, with enforcement costing taxpayers around $3.6 billion a year.

More at link above.

[txradioguy]

Prohibition didn't work for alcohol. Why should it work any better for marijuana?

4 Lessons Alcohol Prohibition Should Teach Us About Cannabis

https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/cannabis-legalization-lessons-from-alcohol-prohibition

It’s difficult to predict what the next four years will look like for cannabis users. While President-elect Trump has made a number of contradictory statements on the subject of legalization, his pick for Attorney General, Sen. Jeff Sessions, holds some radical viewpoints, once claiming, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

 This isn’t the first event of this nature in U.S. history. Producing insurmountable suffering and hardship, the so-called ‘Prohibition Period’ between 1920-1933 – referring to the 13-year ban on alcohol – was largely regarded as a large-scale political failure. Cannabis prohibition has yielded similar consequences, with both events leading to an influx in organized crime, attacks on minorities, and ironically, a rise in drug use.

Recognizing the parallels between these two time periods can help us make informed decisions about the future, no matter what our political alignments may happen to be. So what lessons can we take from America’s first prohibition?

1. Crime Increases

Despite its negative reputation, alcohol prohibition was by some measures a success. The 18th amendment was popular for the majority of its duration, and Americans consumed significantly less alcohol. The benefits, however, were not without serious drawbacks. Organized crime groups thrived in territory that legitimate businesses were no longer allowed to inhabit. Prices of liquor spiked, the federal prisoner population multiplied, and the nation lost out on valuable tax dollars.

Because cannabis only became popular after it was made illegal, it’s a lot more difficult to determine exactly how much of an impact its prohibition has on crime rates. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, over 8 million Americans were arrested for cannabis-related crimes between 2001 and 2010. To this day, half of all drug arrests are marijuana-related, with enforcement costing taxpayers around $3.6 billion a year.

More at link above.

Pro pot propaganda from a pro pot website may sound nice...but in just the short time I've been in Colorado I've seen the negative effects of "legalized" pot.  Pueblo just to the south of me is flooded with homeless coming to the state to smoke "legally"...certain types of crimes are up across the state...incidents of driving while impaired...driving stoned are up as well as the traffic fatalities from being able to "legally" smoke weed.

Last time I checked Jack Daniels isn't a gateway alcohol to something like Moonshine or Everclear the way pot is to other harder drugs...or pot laced with other drugs (PCP for example) to give a stronger high.

Comparing alcohol to pot is just a bullish*t apples to oranges comparison to justify in some peoples minds why they are a drug user.

[txradioguy]

In the years since, Colorado has seen an increase in marijuana related traffic deaths, poison control calls, and emergency room visits. The marijuana black market has increased in Colorado, not decreased. And, numerous Colorado marijuana regulators have been indicted for corruption.

In 2012, we were promised funds from marijuana taxes would benefit our communities, particularly schools. Dr. Harry Bull, the Superintendent of Cherry Creek Schools, one of the largest school districts in the state, said, "So far, the only thing that the legalization of marijuana has brought to our schools has been marijuana."

In fiscal year 2016, marijuana tax revenue resulted in $156,701,018. The total tax revenue for Colorado was $13,327,123,798, making marijuana only 1.18% of the state's total tax revenue. The cost of marijuana legalization in public awareness campaigns, law enforcement, healthcare treatment, addiction recovery, and preventative work is an unknown cost to date.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/08/07/marijuana-devastated-colorado-dont-legalize-nationally-jeff-hunt-column/536010001/

The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the probable cause of a crash that killed 12 people on a church bus near Concan, Texas, in March 2017 was that the 20-year-old man whose truck hit the bus was under the influence of marijuana and a sedative.

In its report, the board says there has been an increase in the number of drug-impaired drivers across the country and that something must be done about it.

That call to action seems to match up with a report released Thursday from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Highway Loss Data Institute.

Though a 2017 study found that the legalization of recreational weed has not increased the number of accidents involving fatalities, states that have legalized recreational use are seeing more car crashes overall, according to the report, which includes two studies presented at the Combating Alcohol- and Drug-Impaired Driving summit at the insurance institute’s Vehicle Research Center.

The first study found that crashes are up as much as 6 percent in Colorado, Washington and Oregon, compared with neighboring states that haven’t legalized recreational use of weed.

Researchers estimated the frequency of collision claims per insured vehicle year, controlling for differences in other factors that could contribute to an accident, including age, location, job status and weather, and still saw an increase.

https://kdvr.com/2018/10/19/studies-car-accidents-up-in-colorado-other-states-with-legalized-recreational-marijuana/

[Elderberry]

How about a govt website?

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-gateway-drug

Is marijuana a gateway drug?



Some research suggests that marijuana use is likely to precede use of other licit and illicit substances46 and the development of addiction to other substances. For instance, a study using longitudinal data from the National Epidemiological Study of Alcohol Use and Related Disorders found that adults who reported marijuana use during the first wave of the survey were more likely than adults who did not use marijuana to develop an alcohol use disorder within 3 years; people who used marijuana and already had an alcohol use disorder at the outset were at greater risk of their alcohol use disorder worsening.47 Marijuana use is also linked to other substance use disorders including nicotine addiction.

Early exposure to cannabinoids in adolescent rodents decreases the reactivity of brain dopamine reward centers later in adulthood.48 To the extent that these findings generalize to humans, this could help explain the increased vulnerability for addiction to other substances of misuse later in life that most epidemiological studies have reported for people who begin marijuana use early in life.49 It is also consistent with animal experiments showing THC’s ability to "prime" the brain for enhanced responses to other drugs.50 For example, rats previously administered THC show heightened behavioral response not only when further exposed to THC but also when exposed to other drugs such as morphine—a phenomenon called cross-sensitization.51

These findings are consistent with the idea of marijuana as a "gateway drug." However, the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, "harder" substances. Also, cross-sensitization is not unique to marijuana. Alcohol and nicotine also prime the brain for a heightened response to other drugs52 and are, like marijuana, also typically used before a person progresses to other, more harmful substances.

It is important to note that other factors besides biological mechanisms, such as a person’s social environment, are also critical in a person’s risk for drug use. An alternative to the gateway-drug hypothesis is that people who are more vulnerable to drug-taking are simply more likely to start with readily available substances such as marijuana, tobacco, or alcohol, and their subsequent social interactions with others who use drugs increases their chances of trying other drugs. Further research is needed to explore this question.

[txradioguy]

How about a govt website?

Doesn't reflect reality.

That website is run and supported by the national Institutes of Health...who are big supporters of the "Health Effects of Climate Change".

If they buy into that hoax...

[Frank Cannon]

Stupid and stoned...just how the Dems would prefer to keep the masses.

The masses are drunk and on prescription pills now and have been for a long time. What's the difference?

Vote freedom. Vote Pot.

[edpc]

Stupid and stoned...just how the Dems would prefer to keep the masses.

Stupid, stoned, financially dependent, and unarmed. 

[edpc]

The masses are drunk and on prescription pills now and have been for a long time. What's the difference?

Vote freedom. Vote Pot.

Bring back Boehner to be Toker of the House.

[txradioguy]

Stupid, stoned, financially dependent, and unarmed.

 

[Frank Cannon]

I LOVE that all the folks who spend 24/7 trashing Trump because he MIGHT be a closet Leftist are here railing against people making their own choices and insisting the Govt' stay in control of an issue that is non of their business.

[Emjay]

They need to concentrate on getting the opioid crisis under control and getting people the help they need and making rehabilitation a priority. They should have legalized pot a long time ago.

Agree, @libertybele   We've got much worse things to worry about.

[Emjay]

Pro pot propaganda from a pro pot website may sound nice...but in just the short time I've been in Colorado I've seen the negative effects of "legalized" pot.  Pueblo just to the south of me is flooded with homeless coming to the state to smoke "legally"...certain types of crimes are up across the state...incidents of driving while impaired...driving stoned are up as well as the traffic fatalities from being able to "legally" smoke weed.

Last time I checked Jack Daniels isn't a gateway alcohol to something like Moonshine or Everclear the way pot is to other harder drugs...or pot laced with other drugs (PCP for example) to give a stronger high.

Comparing alcohol to pot is just a bullish*t apples to oranges comparison to justify in some peoples minds why they are a drug user.

Totally disagree with you about pot but not gonna argue about it.  So you're in Pueblo.  My son lives in Canon City, it's a great place to live. 

[EasyAce]

I wish the Republicans would not make this an issue.  It's not that important in the scheme of things and most states will make it legal in a few years.

Two thirds, it seems, now have.

[Frank Cannon]

Two thirds, it seems, now have.

And once we get those last 3rd of states I can move on to my next hot button issue......Legalizing Codeine and Laudanum for recreational uses.

[corbe]

   It ain't broke, don't fix it.
   Until my connection rolled out of her bed, drunk, 2 weeks ago onto her concrete floor this was not a problem.  My paranoia in finding another connection does not constitute legal smoke.
   Texas doesn't have a Stoner problem (Colorado supplies all our weed now), the Feds need to get the hell out of the equation.

[Emjay]

   It ain't broke, don't fix it.
   Until my connection rolled out of her bed, drunk, 2 weeks ago onto her concrete floor this was not a problem.  My paranoia in finding another connection does not constitute legal smoke.
   Texas doesn't have a Stoner problem (Colorado supplies all our weed now), the Feds need to get the hell out of the equation.

I can't believe you let your connection fall on a concrete floor.  How about buying her a nice soft rug.

[EasyAce]

Marijuana became completely legal in my Nevada a year and a half ago.

And you know what happened after the first few nights of long lines at the dispensaries?

Life went on. And we don't happen to have a state full of stoned zombies, either.

I can't smoke the stuff now, it's far too harsh a smoke, but I do enjoy buying marijuana chocolate bars divided into squares a la standard large Hershey bars.

I eat one of those "loaded" chocolate squares every so often when I have trouble sleeping. It's a better sleep aid when you need one than melatonin or benadryl or whatever else you buy at the pharmacy.

[Frank Cannon]

Marijuana became completely legal in my Nevada a year and a half ago.

And you know what happened after the first few nights of long lines at the dispensaries?

Life went on. And we don't happen to have a state full of stoned zombies, either.

I can't smoke the stuff now, it's far too harsh a smoke, but I do enjoy buying marijuana chocolate bars divided into squares a la standard large Hershey bars.

I eat one of those "loaded" chocolate squares every so often when I have trouble sleeping. It's a better sleep aid when you need one than melatonin or benadryl or whatever else you buy at the pharmacy.

Typical doper drug addict response. We all know you are typing that from the public library where you sleep in the racks and steal the toilet paper and sell it in back alleys to feed your habit. I've read too many irrational responses from the anti-potters on this thread to think otherwise.

[EasyAce]

Typical doper drug addict response. We all know you are typing that from the public library where you sleep in the racks and steal the toilet paper and sell it in back alleys to feed your habit. I've read too many irrational responses from the anti-potters on this thread to think otherwise.

I think you have their number.

(I'd tell you that my actual addictions are music, books, baseball, and old-time radio, but I'm half afraid the prohibitionists might start drumming up movements to outlaw them. )