Bernie: I will legalize marijuana nationwide on day one

[Treedbear]

You may be right. I looked for the report and it involved the sale of cocaine laced with fentanyl. But given what might be out there I'd have a hard time trusting today's supply chain. But that's just me. I'm taking certain chances with my BP meds too. But with that it's not as if I can just say no.

I can only speak from personal experience, but for me the current street supply chain is a known factor, and originates from growers in the legal market in another State. I trust it as well as I trust the horrendously expensive legal supply chain here. Of course it hasn't always been that way, but I can't remember a time when I was dealing with a connection with whom I did not at least have a passing acquaintance previously. In the 40 years I have been smoking, I have only encountered laced product once, and that was from a joint passed to me at a concert, it was laced with cocaine and I could tell immediately. Noticing on the first hit might not have helped if it had been fentanyl, but then again that was also in the '80s, and I don't think fentanyl was around then.

I tell myself that someday when I'm retired and shed some responcibilities I'll take up weed again. But it will probably be fully legal where I live by then and I'll just find some seeds and grow my own. Just as I like to make my own bread and yogurt and cook my own meals. It's more interesting that way and tends to be way cheaper.

 

[Axulus]

Jumping the gun in my book.

While I favor legalization there needs to be time for states to set up reasonable regulatory systems.

I think he means legalize at the federal level. Doesn't mean states can't still have their own laws. They can take whatever amount of time they want (or keep it illegal if they want).

 

[southernhybrid]

Why are y'all still pretending that Sanders can make cannabis legal on day one, when it takes Congress to make it legal?

Are you sure it takes congress to make it legal? Source?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomang...-states-on-day-one-as-president/#5c1901ba1c16

Forbes had this to say:

The executive branch does have authority under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to reclassify cannabis without further action from Congress, but the details of the process involve steps by the attorney general and the health and human services secretary—Sanders designees unlikely to be installed on his “first day.” Current law also means that international drug treaties could complicate moves by an administration to deschedule marijuana from the CSA entirely. And, when it comes to enacting legalization in every state, there’s not much a president can do to force the repeal of local criminalization laws.

Sanders also mentioned his intention to swiftly legalize marijuana and take other executive actions at an earlier campaign stop on Saturday afternoon, joking that he would tell his wife on inauguration day that “I’ll be home late, my dear.”

Seems that its too complicated for him to be able to make this happen overnight, but politically his intention to do so still speaks volumes.

https://www.cato.org/blog/lawful-executive-action-declassifying-marijuana

I couldn't find the source that I found when I made my earlier post, but maybe this helps a little. It was written when Obama was still president.

While legalizing marijuana as a matter of federal law would take an act of Congress, President Obama can decriminalize it. He can do this by moving it out of Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which is reserved for substances of no medical purpose and a high potential for abuse, and therefore have high criminal penalties attached to their mere possession.

I supposed it's controversial. I already mentioned that a president can reclassify the drug to a much lower level.

 

[Elixir]

Are you sure it takes congress to make it legal? Source?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomang...-states-on-day-one-as-president/#5c1901ba1c16

Forbes had this to say:



Seems that its too complicated for him to be able to make this happen overnight, but politically his intention to do so still speaks volumes.

https://www.cato.org/blog/lawful-executive-action-declassifying-marijuana

I couldn't find the source that I found when I made my earlier post, but maybe this helps a little. It was written when Obama was still president.

While legalizing marijuana as a matter of federal law would take an act of Congress, President Obama can decriminalize it. He can do this by moving it out of Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which is reserved for substances of no medical purpose and a high potential for abuse, and therefore have high criminal penalties attached to their mere possession.

I supposed it's controversial. I already mentioned that a president can reclassify the drug to a much lower level.

That should be done... The War of Drugs was a boondoggle from the outset. War on pot is probably the stupidest aspect of that entire "war". Marijuana interdiction, enforcement and incarceration is nothing but a totally pointless* expense that has been destructive to society and a windfall for criminals.

* Except insofar as it gives racists another tool with which to suppress minorities

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

https://www.cato.org/blog/lawful-executive-action-declassifying-marijuana

I couldn't find the source that I found when I made my earlier post, but maybe this helps a little. It was written when Obama was still president.



I supposed it's controversial. I already mentioned that a president can reclassify the drug to a much lower level.

That should be done... The War of Drugs was a boondoggle from the outset. War on pot is probably the stupidest aspect of that entire "war". Marijuana interdiction, enforcement and incarceration is nothing but a totally pointless* expense that has been destructive to society and a windfall for criminals.

* Except insofar as it gives racists another tool with which to suppress minorities

It has been an expensive undertaking where the benefits clearly are outweighed by the costs. It is simply prohibition in a different wrapper.

Lots of folks want to continue their war on drugs because their livelihoods depend on it.

 

[Elixir]

https://www.cato.org/blog/lawful-executive-action-declassifying-marijuana

I couldn't find the source that I found when I made my earlier post, but maybe this helps a little. It was written when Obama was still president.



I supposed it's controversial. I already mentioned that a president can reclassify the drug to a much lower level.

That should be done... The War of Drugs was a boondoggle from the outset. War on pot is probably the stupidest aspect of that entire "war". Marijuana interdiction, enforcement and incarceration is nothing but a totally pointless* expense that has been destructive to society and a windfall for criminals.

* Except insofar as it gives racists another tool with which to suppress minorities

It has been an expensive undertaking where the benefits clearly are outweighed by the costs. It is simply prohibition in a different wrapper.

Lots of folks want to continue their war on drugs because their livelihoods depend on it.

Yup, that's right. And FWIW, the main benefit of Federal legalization for Colorado would be that it would enable growers to use the banking system. Right now, the banks in CO are being scrutinized - painfully scrutinized - by fed regulators to make sure they aren't handling any pot money. The banks (speaking of 2 local banks that I deal with) would of course like to be allowed access to the money, but even more, they'd LOVE for the feds to stop crawling all over them about it. Meanwhile, the fact that retailers have to deal in cash has created a niche crime wave; people are robbing pot shops at a rate that (I am told) is staggering.

Once again, I urge naysayers to take an honest look at the Portugal example and tell my why it wouldn't work just as well in America.

 

[southernhybrid]

Are you sure it takes congress to make it legal? Source?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomang...-states-on-day-one-as-president/#5c1901ba1c16

Forbes had this to say:



Seems that its too complicated for him to be able to make this happen overnight, but politically his intention to do so still speaks volumes.

https://www.cato.org/blog/lawful-executive-action-declassifying-marijuana

I couldn't find the source that I found when I made my earlier post, but maybe this helps a little. It was written when Obama was still president.

While legalizing marijuana as a matter of federal law would take an act of Congress, President Obama can decriminalize it. He can do this by moving it out of Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which is reserved for substances of no medical purpose and a high potential for abuse, and therefore have high criminal penalties attached to their mere possession.

I supposed it's controversial. I already mentioned that a president can reclassify the drug to a much lower level.

I'm in complete agreement with that. In fact, I think that all recreational drugs should be decriminalized. Why should someone with a heroin or meth habit be punished if all he is doing is hurting himself? I'm assuming the person is using in a safe place or the privacy of his own home. In fact, I wouldn't object to the legalization as long as regulations were also in place. A person with a heroin habit could ge to a safe place to buy his drugs and a safe place to use. To me, it's insane to lock up people for just using, assuming that no child or other person is in danger due to the mental state of the user. ETOH. has probably caused more problems, diseases, and harm to others compared to any of the illegal recreational drugs, yet it's totally legal. If all these drugs were legal and regulated at least as much as ETOH, think of all the money that could be saved on police enforcement and imprisonment. Think of all the crime that wold be prevented too. We are no an enlightened enough society to do that.

As far as cannabis goes, it's mostly black males who are treated unfairly by the law. White privilege allows the rest of us to use without being in much danger of being arrested. But, a black male, especially a young black male is often harassed by the police for no apparent reason. If that black male happens to have a joint on him, or an oz. that he just purchased, he's often arrested and convicted, at least in some places. That is why I think Atlanta decriminalized anything under an oz. Cannabis, imo, is the safest of all the recreational drugs. It's only illegal federally and in most states due to reasons that initially involved racism. But, I digress. We were talking about Bernie's claim.....

 

[Gun Nut]

It has been an expensive undertaking where the benefits clearly are outweighed by the costs. It is simply prohibition in a different wrapper.

Lots of folks want to continue their war on drugs because their livelihoods depend on it.

Yup, that's right. And FWIW, the main benefit of Federal legalization for Colorado would be that it would enable growers to use the banking system. Right now, the banks in CO are being scrutinized - painfully scrutinized - by fed regulators to make sure they aren't handling any pot money. The banks (speaking of 2 local banks that I deal with) would of course like to be allowed access to the money, but even more, they'd LOVE for the feds to stop crawling all over them about it. Meanwhile, the fact that retailers have to deal in cash has created a niche crime wave; people are robbing pot shops at a rate that (I am told) is staggering.

Once again, I urge naysayers to take an honest look at the Portugal example and tell my why it wouldn't work just as well in America.

Some pot shops in CO have managed to be able to accept Debit Cards for payment... it's weird, though... like, you have to pay some whole dollar amount, and then they give you change in cash.. .basically just like taking cash out of an ATM, but they do it for you somehow without breaking the banking laws.

 

[Elixir]

It has been an expensive undertaking where the benefits clearly are outweighed by the costs. It is simply prohibition in a different wrapper.

Lots of folks want to continue their war on drugs because their livelihoods depend on it.

Yup, that's right. And FWIW, the main benefit of Federal legalization for Colorado would be that it would enable growers to use the banking system. Right now, the banks in CO are being scrutinized - painfully scrutinized - by fed regulators to make sure they aren't handling any pot money. The banks (speaking of 2 local banks that I deal with) would of course like to be allowed access to the money, but even more, they'd LOVE for the feds to stop crawling all over them about it. Meanwhile, the fact that retailers have to deal in cash has created a niche crime wave; people are robbing pot shops at a rate that (I am told) is staggering.

Once again, I urge naysayers to take an honest look at the Portugal example and tell my why it wouldn't work just as well in America.

Some pot shops in CO have managed to be able to accept Debit Cards for payment... it's weird, though... like, you have to pay some whole dollar amount, and then they give you change in cash.. .basically just like taking cash out of an ATM, but they do it for you somehow without breaking the banking laws.

I'm not a customer - been giving away big bags of the shit every year, so I wouldn't know about such work-arounds. I bet it'll attract lots of attention from the feds eventually.

 

[ZiprHead]

Trump Budget Targets Marijuana States Rights

As President Trump travels around the nation to his various reelection rallies, a giant banner with the slogan “Promises Made, Promises Kept” is always displayed prominently behind him. A quick review of a 2016 radio interview provides even more evidence that this is not true.

As part of his recently released fiscal year 2021 budget plan, Trump proposed ending an existing policy that protects state medical marijuana programs from Justice Department interference in addition to a provision that would continue to prohibit the District of Columbia from regulating the sale of marijuana for adult use. This is the opposite of what he said during his first campaign. With WWJ Newsradio 950 in Michigan on March 8, 2016, Trump said “I think it certainly has to be a state — I have not smoked it — it’s got to be a state decision … I do like it, you know, from a medical standpoint … it does do pretty good things. But from the other standpoint, I think that it should be up to the states.”

Although the rider has been continually renewed in appropriations legislation since 2014, there have been hurdles along the way. President Obama asked for the policy to be removed, and Trump doubled down by omitting all language involving medical cannabis protections.

 

[southernhybrid]

Trump Budget Targets Marijuana States Rights

As President Trump travels around the nation to his various reelection rallies, a giant banner with the slogan “Promises Made, Promises Kept” is always displayed prominently behind him. A quick review of a 2016 radio interview provides even more evidence that this is not true.

As part of his recently released fiscal year 2021 budget plan, Trump proposed ending an existing policy that protects state medical marijuana programs from Justice Department interference in addition to a provision that would continue to prohibit the District of Columbia from regulating the sale of marijuana for adult use. This is the opposite of what he said during his first campaign. With WWJ Newsradio 950 in Michigan on March 8, 2016, Trump said “I think it certainly has to be a state — I have not smoked it — it’s got to be a state decision … I do like it, you know, from a medical standpoint … it does do pretty good things. But from the other standpoint, I think that it should be up to the states.”

Although the rider has been continually renewed in appropriations legislation since 2014, there have been hurdles along the way. President Obama asked for the policy to be removed, and Trump doubled down by omitting all language involving medical cannabis protections.

He probably saw that old photo of Obama smoking a J, so naturally, he wants to make it more difficult for people to legally buy cannabis. But, I'm sure there are plenty of conservatives who won't like this idea. Maybe they will lose their affection for Trump, one can only hope.

 

[Elixir]

Trump Budget Targets Marijuana States Rights

As President Trump travels around the nation to his various reelection rallies, a giant banner with the slogan “Promises Made, Promises Kept” is always displayed prominently behind him. A quick review of a 2016 radio interview provides even more evidence that this is not true.

As part of his recently released fiscal year 2021 budget plan, Trump proposed ending an existing policy that protects state medical marijuana programs from Justice Department interference in addition to a provision that would continue to prohibit the District of Columbia from regulating the sale of marijuana for adult use. This is the opposite of what he said during his first campaign. With WWJ Newsradio 950 in Michigan on March 8, 2016, Trump said “I think it certainly has to be a state — I have not smoked it — it’s got to be a state decision … I do like it, you know, from a medical standpoint … it does do pretty good things. But from the other standpoint, I think that it should be up to the states.”

Although the rider has been continually renewed in appropriations legislation since 2014, there have been hurdles along the way. President Obama asked for the policy to be removed, and Trump doubled down by omitting all language involving medical cannabis protections.

He probably saw that old photo of Obama smoking a J, so naturally, he wants to make it more difficult for people to legally buy cannabis. But, I'm sure there are plenty of conservatives who won't like this idea. Maybe they will lose their affection for Trump, one can only hope.

Or forget to vote ...