California And Marijuana

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+

[T-Bone _]

I really fail to see a real difference between MJ and alcohol/tobacco.

[Apotheoun]

Both tobacco and marijuana, unlike alcohol, have the problem of second hand smoke wafting about, which in the case of marijuana can have a narcotic influence on those imbibing it.

[zunshynn]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1916687' date='Jul 10 2009, 10:38 AM']Both tobacco and marijuana, unlike alcohol, have the problem of second hand smoke wafting about, which in the case of marijuana can have a narcotic influence on those imbibing it.[/quote]

That's true... and California has pretty strict laws regarding where one can smoke tobacco because of it.

Truthfully, if it was made legal and heavily taxed, I'm pretty sure most users would still obtain it illegally.

[zunshynn]

Not to mention that a large majority of marijuana users get around paying taxes they're supposed to pay already, and many of them are on welfare...

Edited July 10, 2009 by zunshynn

[CatherineM]

Marijuana has also been identified as drastically increasing your chance of developing Schizophrenia in those with a genetic pre-disposition.

[dairygirl4u2c]

i voted yes. it should be legal. it's a free country, to put it simply without mentioning how it's not much different than tobacco and alcohol, and various qualifiations there.

but with that said, i don't like the idea of a state etc using pot, or whatever, eg gambling, to raise revenue, just because they are too irresponsible to balance their budget without outrageous taxes, without it.

i know a lot of states wanna do gambling, to raise revenue. im not against gambling either-- if it's a fix to balance the budget though, id be one who might just vote against it. same with pot.

it's ultimately something that should be legal though, both of em... so im not sure how i'd vote, hypothetically speaking.
i think i'd vote for both of em, if it were a vote issue and not an elected representative issue

[add]

Taxation of tobacco and drugs is simply put a sin tax.
if you could tax for other sins like; infidelity, cheating or not telling the truth, the deficits would all but vanish in no time.

[Spence06]

I think it should be legal. For most people, who know better, marijuana is best smoked inside in a smaller room or a car, so second hand smoke shouldn't happen.

[goldenchild17]

It should be legalized, though don't agree with a big tax on it, but what can ya do...

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='zunshynn' post='1916697' date='Jul 10 2009, 01:53 PM']Not to mention that a large majority of marijuana users get around paying taxes they're supposed to pay already, and many of them are on welfare...[/quote]

Not true. There may be some that operate that way... but definitely not a majority.

Frankly, people, marijuana is the drug choice for the everyday American. Not the so-called "druggies." You'd be surprised how many fathers of good families smoke it. A lot of guys get into it during high school, continue it during college, and then smoke it raising while raising families.

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='apparently' post='1917248' date='Jul 11 2009, 07:07 AM']Taxation of tobacco and drugs is simply put a sin tax.
if you could tax for other sins like; infidelity, cheating or not telling the truth, the deficits would all but vanish in no time.[/quote]

Since when has tobacco been proclaimed sinful?

[philothea]

IIRC, marijuana has been in use for at least 40,000 years.

Kind of silly to make the use of that kind of ancient, naturally-occurring plant illegal, IMO.

No interest in it myself, though.

[Angel*Star]

If they want to make it legal, at least come up with a different reason than just taxation. I mean, maybe it is so they can stand to be in the same state as Hollywood. Or maybe so Hollywood can be on it when they make movies. They may make more sense. But not just to tax. In case you haven't realized, we pay enough taxes. Maybe the government should live within a budget. Novel idea, I realize, but just maybe.......

[Angel*Star]

[quote name='dairygirl4u2c' post='1917100' date='Jul 10 2009, 11:33 PM']i voted yes. it should be legal. it's a free country, to put it simply without mentioning how it's not much different than tobacco and alcohol, and various qualifiations there.

but with that said, i don't like the idea of a state etc using pot, or whatever, eg gambling, to raise revenue, just because they are too irresponsible to balance their budget without outrageous taxes, without it.

i know a lot of states wanna do gambling, to raise revenue. im not against gambling either-- if it's a fix to balance the budget though, id be one who might just vote against it. same with pot.

it's ultimately something that should be legal though, both of em... so im not sure how i'd vote, hypothetically speaking.
i think i'd vote for both of em, if it were a vote issue and not an elected representative issue[/quote]


Gambling raises tax revenue? In which state is that? They claim it does in our state, but they have it fixed so the state can use the money else where. The government has once again pulled a fast one and few people have caught it. People only have so much money (at least most people I know) so they gamble it and cannot spend it to buy stuff at stores or go out to eat. If that keeps up we could have an economic problem in these great United States. People may stop making their house payments or something crazy like that.

[track2004]

It should be legal and taxed like alcohol or tobacco here (CA). At this point it's legal for medical uses and people just get it from friends with loose doctors or straight from loose doctors. You can get it for anything from cancer/chemo treatments to anxiety to headaches. It's redic.

I think people would buy it, but the tax problems in CA aren't going to be solved by letting the whole state get baked. We have some really basic problems with how the state is governed (not necessarily the people in office now, but the rules that are in the constitution and other political stuff). If those aren't fixed then this patch won't hold. On the other hand, if they aren't fixed and we can blaze up, there is a possibility fewer of us will care.


Also if we're going to talk about pot let's talk about that. If we're going to start saying we're "taxed enough already" then there are other threads.

[CatherineM]

[quote name='Angel*Star' post='1918581' date='Jul 13 2009, 01:53 AM']Gambling raises tax revenue? In which state is that? They claim it does in our state, but they have it fixed so the state can use the money else where. The government has once again pulled a fast one and few people have caught it. People only have so much money (at least most people I know) so they gamble it and cannot spend it to buy stuff at stores or go out to eat. If that keeps up we could have an economic problem in these great United States. People may stop making their house payments or something crazy like that.[/quote]

The state often pulls fast ones with these kinds of extra taxes. In Florida they said the lottery would add X amount of money to the education system. It did, but by magic, X amount was also deducted from the money the state normally paid into the education system.

[Vasilius Konstantinos]

One issue is there is no test if someone is found under the influence of it while driving, like we can do with alcohol. If anyone wants to challenge it if they fail the "drug test" they can, and have, won in court showing that there needs to be something invented which can show someone under the influence of it automatically. Otherwise the tests do not sow it right away, sometimes several hours for a response. This is a major issue, especially for patrolmen.