Shouldn't something be done about Mexico?

[Aeson]

As long as SCOTUS doesnt rule against drug laws they are constitutional ... though still cause more harm than good.

[Berzerker]

so the Constitution says Congress can ban pot, but if tomorrow 5 judges said Congress cant, the Constitution says the opposite of what it said today?

[Kidlicious]

According to the original Constitution you can own slaves. Are you saying it's your right to own slaves Berz? Just because the Constitution allows you to do something doesn't mean it's wrong for society to pass laws against that which is bad. If that were so the Constitution would be bad for society and therefore have to be destroyed.

[ricketyclik]

It seems to me the question is how much do your actions impinge upon others. True, drug addiction can have an adverse effect on others, particularly if one steals to support one's habit, which is far more likely in a prohibitionist environment because of the higher costs.

On balance I'd say a non-prohibitionist environment is more conducive to lower impact on others.

[Kidlicious]

It seems to me the question is how much do your actions impinge upon others. True, drug addiction can have an adverse effect on others, particularly if one steals to support one's habit, which is far more likely in a prohibitionist environment because of the higher costs.

On balance I'd say a non-prohibitionist environment is more conducive to lower impact on others.

You also have lost productivity and healthcare costs. That's not mentioning the cost to families and harm to the users if consumption increases due to legalization. So you are only talking about one cost, crime. That will surely be eliminated, but if consumption increases you will have the other costs increase.

[ricketyclik]

Potentially true, but I suspect use rates would be fairly similar, particularly if you factor in the removal of the forbidden fruit factor.

[Kidlicious]

With a federal system we have the option of seeing how things go at the state level first before implementing the policy nation wide.

[Aeson]

so the Constitution says Congress can ban pot, but if tomorrow 5 judges said Congress cant, the Constitution says the opposite of what it said today?

Kinda. What the Constitution says doesn't change except by amendment. How it is interpreted by the ultimate judicial authority changes.

[Aeson]

so the Constitution says Congress can ban pot, but if tomorrow 5 judges said Congress cant, the Constitution says the opposite of what it said today?

Kinda. What the Constitution says doesn't change except by amendment. How it is interpreted by the ultimate judicial authority changes.

[Berzerker]

According to the original Constitution you can own slaves. Are you saying it's your right to own slaves Berz? Just because the Constitution allows you to do something doesn't mean it's wrong for society to pass laws against that which is bad. If that were so the Constitution would be bad for society and therefore have to be destroyed.

The Constitution doesn't mention owning a slaves, much less a right, but slavery was banned with an amendment to the Constitution

[Kidlicious]

So basically your beef is with SCOTUS?

[ricketyclik]

So basically your beef is with SCOTUS?

I think Nixon and Reagan were mentioned, as they usually are in discussions of poor drug policies.

[Kidlicious]

I think Nixon and Reagan were mentioned, as they usually are in discussions of poor drug policies.

Well smokin pot was illegal before both of those cats, and berz says making it illegal to smoke pot is the same as making it illegal to practice Christianity.

[ricketyclik]

1968-1969
Appellate court challenges to the 1937 ‘Reefer Madness’ anti-cannabis laws force the federal government to create a Controlled Substances Act and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1970.

President Richard Nixon creates blue ribbon commission to review cannabis laws, historically known as the Shafer Commission.

1972
The Shafer Commission recommends that cannabis should be decriminalized for personal use; and that personal cultivation be allowed along with small transfers for no profit (Nixon and US Congress reject recommendations).

1980
President Reagan is elected to the White House (along with his wife Nancy’s anti-cannabis crusade) and this effectively ends ‘an era of decriminalization’, from 1973 to 1981, culminating with eleven states having decriminalized marijuana possession at the time (AK, OR, CA, CO, NE, MN, MS, OH, NC, NY and ME).

[Kidlicious]

Mkay. So most people don't think you have a right to smoke pot. Point?