The New Economics of Pot.

[Ming]

Maybe I'm odd in as much as I'd rather none of those people (stoners and the people you listed) be driving? Perhaps you can explain to me how the presence of one danger on the road means I should be comfortable with all of them being on the road.

And where did I say I was comfortable with or I wanted stoners on the road... I did say that given a choice, I'd rather see somebody driving at 20 MPH in city traffic because they were high vs morons who were paying more attention to something else while doing 50 MPH. But my statement NEVER condoned getting high and driving.

[flipside]

I find these discussions very strange and the decisions that the government make from a social pychology/economic pov when compared to other benefits are laughable.

Cannabis being illegal is totally stupid compared to alcohol and tobacco.

To me there is one question.

Should cannabis be legal, under a freedom of individual rights, for people who do not require it medically and what is the social effect?

Everything else is pretty obvious from there for me.

Alcohol and tobacco are far more addictive and dangerous, so given a choice for a social benefit, there is no question what should be done.

If you ban cannabis, than alcohol and tobacco should be banned as well.

Personally, I'd allow cannabis as it is, by far, the best economically, health, and social cost wise of the three.

If not, ban the lot.


EDIT: Not that it means much to me, but cannabis is clearly the least harmful, and economically, the most beneficial,you have to be retarded to not realise that having tobacco and alcohol as legal and cannabis as illegal is monumentally stupid.

It goes this way.

Cannabis.
Tobacco.
Alcohol


That's the danger and economic benefit list in order, where you set the line is up to you.

[DinoDoc]

stuff

I fail to see the relevence of your response to me then. Do you like killing bits just to see your name on a forum?

[giblets]

Hey Dinodoc, where did Ming say you should be comfortable with people driving while stoned?

[flipside]

Hey Dinodoc, where did Ming say you should be comfortable with people driving while stoned?

Exactly. He didn't. Ming used an illustrative comparative to set up a relative basis of how he saw activities that you should not do while driving in order of risk.

DinoDoc decided to twist what was said for his own purposes.

Illogical and boring.

[DinoDoc]

Are you two high?

[giblets]

No, unfortunately. Now, defend your stupid assumption...

[Dinner]

This is some what unrelated but the other thing I would like to see if for the Feds to legalize home distilling of liquor. In 1978 when the Federal government legalized the home brewing of beer we saw a rush of home brewers brewing beer they did not find in the market place and could not buy in the US market. Much of it were type of beers found in Europe but which weren't made in the US given the strangle hold national breweries had on the market and the strict distribution laws of the states. Never the less private enterprise worked and soon there were huge numbers of new start ups offering new and interesting types of beer. Many of these start ups became quite large and now employ hundreds of people (thousands if you include the bottle makers, can makers, packing companies, and distribution companies) so it ended up being a great thing economically.

Why can't we do the same thing with liquor? Why can't we have boutique whiskey, vodka, brandy, etc... Companies operating all over the country? It would seem like a great new local business if the Feds would just get out the way. These are manufactured goods so its a good way to increase American manufacturing at a time when imports are killing American manufacturing.

[The Emperor Fabulous]

I wish we were seeing this on the East Coast. Good news for you guys though.

You need to go a bit northward, my friend. Massachusetts decriminalized it, and even before then, I smoked countless joints in broad daylight on Boston Common.

Rhode Island is adopting California's medical dispensary model.

And lets not forget Vermont and Maine, two of the smoker-friendliest states in the nation.

However, moving to California has been quite an experience. I thought I knew pot before...but damn.

[Ming]

Are you two high?

Gee... a great response when you have been proven to be totally wrong.

Learn how to read. Your "assumptions" were totally wrong, yet you try to deflect it by asking if people are high. At least people who actually think can see how wrong you were.

When you want to have a real discussion, try to do so without looking like a total idiot.

That might not be possible considering your response, but try it for a change.

[DinoDoc]

Gee... a great response ...

When given to people that appear to be gibbering morons, it certainly is.

Stuff

You started this discussion with an idiotic response to me commenting on a post made by what is apparently the intelligent brother comparing the dangers of stoned drivers to other distracted drivers as if that were at all relevent. It's not may fault that your hangers on decided to join in.

[Ming]

When given to people that appear to be gibbering morons, it certainly is.

Since you were the one making crap up... you seem to be the gibbering moron here.

You started this discussion with an idiotic response to me commenting on a post made by what is apparently the intelligent brother comparing the dangers of stoned drivers to other distracted drivers as if that were at all relevent. It's not may fault that your hangers on decided to join in.

Again... learn to read. You used your usual lack of reading skills to see something that wasn't in my post. Again, please point out where I said driving stoned was ok or that I approve of it.
I guess anybody with a brain that disagrees with you is considered a "hanger". I notice nobody has bothered to agree with your moronic post. Gee, I wonder why not

[DinoDoc]

Again... learn to read. You used your usual lack of reading skills to see something that wasn't in my post.

Assuming your .later stated purpose, your response to me makes little sense because I was commenting on the ability of stoned people to drive under the influence. The fact other people may or may not pose a danger on the road is irrelevent to that point. The faster you can grasp that apparently complex point that I wrongly thought was simple and uncontraversial the better.

I notice nobody has bothered to agree with your moronic post. Gee, I wonder why not

I don't care. Argumentum ad populum isn't evidence of anything.

[Ming]

Assuming your .later stated purpose, your response to me makes little sense because I was commenting on the ability of stoned people to drive under the influence. The fact other people may or may not pose a danger on the road is irrelevent to that point. The faster you can grasp that apparently complex point that I wrongly thought was simple and uncontraversial the better.
I don't care. Argumentum ad populum isn't evidence of anything.

No surprise that something didn't make sense to you... since it seems little ever does. It's also not surprising that others could understand it and you still don't.

Again, since you have never done so yet... please show us all where I said that I think it's OK to drive stoned... OH THAT'S RIGHT, YOU CAN'T, because I never did.

So maybe you should think again about who is the one making sense here. It's obviously not you.

[Elok]

Why can't we do the same thing with liquor? Why can't we have boutique whiskey, vodka, brandy, etc... Companies operating all over the country? It would seem like a great new local business if the Feds would just get out the way. These are manufactured goods so its a good way to increase American manufacturing at a time when imports are killing American manufacturing.

Well, I'm assuming you'd want adequate regulation to ensure this gourmet 'shine doesn't contain paint thinner or other things that would make a person go blind; you'd want at least enough tax revenue to pay for the regulators, inspectors and such. Would there be that much demand? Not that it's necessarily a bad idea, just saying.