Bernie has now said that he intends to legalize marijuana nationwide on day one.
Will this help or hurt his chances in 2020?
Will this help or hurt his chances in 2020?
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Bernie: I will legalize marijuana nationwide on day one
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Jimmy Higgins
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Can he do that?
Apparently any president can take it off of schedule 1 of the banned substances list.
This host is very much a supporter of Bernie's, but here ya go:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPIgrg4JmRI[/youtube]
The vid above also makes the interesting point that Trump may pivot to the LEFT on some issues if a right leaning nominee is chosen by the Dems, and he couldn't do that with Bernie.
T.G.G. Moogly
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Holy ssssssssshhhhhhhhhhit! I think Bernie just got my vote!
Politesse
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What a dope!
Jumping the gun in my book.
While I favor legalization there needs to be time for states to set up reasonable regulatory systems.
While I favor legalization there needs to be time for states to set up reasonable regulatory systems.
Has legalizing pot failed badly anywhere? Will Trump be trotting out some horror stories to try to bash Bernie for this? Will it backfire on Trump spectacularly if he does?
Jimmy Higgins
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Ohio did a good job of making it expensive and not having nearly enough supply.
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Just because it's legal at the federal level doesn't mean it would automatically become legal in all states.
barbos
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I don't care as long as I don't smell the smoke.
Elixir
Made in America
So it was a success.
I like the idea of keeping the money spent on pot out of the hands of gangs and syndicates.
Jimmy Higgins
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Ohio created syndicates for Marijuana production.
Elixir
Made in America
Yeah, we have them in CO too. In fact I'm seriously considering becoming part of one or more. They are, in contrast to the previously dominant players, domestically based (money stays in the US), they pay buttloads of taxes (benefiting schools etc) and successfully displace crime syndicates. Sorry for not including the word "crime" in the post above. Furthermore, the quality of the product is much more consistent than it ever was when crime syndicates ruled the market.
Personally, I like pot and appreciate that every couple of years I can grow a plant or three and not spend a dime on it beyond the cost of fertilizer - which I'd spend anyhow since I grow tomatoes and other things every year...
Jimmy Higgins
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In Ohio, the syndicates are part of the constitutional amendment. Ohio fucking sucks now.
Has the 6 years Colorado has had it legal for recreational use enough time to see how it can be done right? How about Medical use, since 1996 in California?
Canada recently decriminalized it and the only difference I've noticed so far is that people stop trying to hide it. Not that they were ever good at hiding it. Productivity hasn't gone down. Crime hasn't gone up.
We are pushing to decriminalize prostitution next.
We are pushing to decriminalize prostitution next.
KeepTalking
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Illinois has done the same thing, at least so far, and the State has taken in way more than anticipated in the first month. Dispensary prices are double street prices even before adding in the 40% tax, but as more licenses are issued and supply increases that will change.
Didn't we already decriminalize prostitution? I seem to recall us doing that.
southernhybrid
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I don't think Sanders can do that without Congressional approval, but after Trump, I guess the president can do anything he/she wants to do.
Okay. I looked it up. A president can reclassify a drug like cannabis, but he can't legalize it on a federal level without congressional approval. So Sanders is full of shit when he claims he can make it legal on his first day of office. Y'all know damn well that if he tried, most Republicans would challenge his action in the courts. Why can't these candidates be more honest!
He should have said he would reclassify it to the lowest level of control drugs, and they try to convince the Congress to back legalization. That would have been an honest statement.
Okay. I looked it up. A president can reclassify a drug like cannabis, but he can't legalize it on a federal level without congressional approval. So Sanders is full of shit when he claims he can make it legal on his first day of office. Y'all know damn well that if he tried, most Republicans would challenge his action in the courts. Why can't these candidates be more honest!
He should have said he would reclassify it to the lowest level of control drugs, and they try to convince the Congress to back legalization. That would have been an honest statement.
Not fully, no.
And technically its the other way around. It used to be legal, but is now partially illegal.
It went like this: For many years prostitution itself was legal in Canada but many things around it (living off the avails of prostitution; common bawdy house (brothel); communicating for the purpose of prostitution) were illegal, making it illegal to do in practice. The Bedford decision at the Supreme Court struck those laws down because they were found to endanger the workers because they couldn't vet their clients very well and had to do it in dark alleys or online with few details collected from clients (for fear of police). The workers feared coming forward about trafficking or abuse because they could be charged themselves. The judges got rid of these laws and gave Harper a set time to enact new if the government wished to.
The government held "open forums", where they listened to many anti-prostitution groups, both feminist and religious, and pretty much ignored the pro-legalized-prostitution groups, including feminist and prostitutes themselves, including Bedford herself. They decided to enact the "nordic system" which made it legal to sell sexual services, but illegal to buy them. A bit nuts, yes, but that's the current state of the law on this.
Police departments across Canada have either hinted that they won't enforce these new laws or outright said so. Their focus is where it should be; on human trafficking abuse. Its been a while since I looked into this (I was part of the Bedford team back in the day but no longer practice in this area) but last I checked nobody had been convicted under the new laws or even vigorously prosecuted. I don't think there are many arrets for it and I think its probably only used as something to pressure johns who they think may have knowledge of other criminal activity, using this charge as something to let them off of in a plea. Many legal scholars have opined that the new laws would be struck down for the same reasons the old ones would, and its hard to argue otherwise, so the cases simply aren't brought to the courts.
TLDR: It is now legal to sell, illegal to buy, and rarely enforced anyway. And few people know it.