The Goat Rope: Really?

December 07, 2012

Really?

I woke up this morning (sounds like the beginning of a song) and, after completing a few rituals, began scanning the web for news. I was a bit disappointed to find this story which said that the Obama administration is considering going after the states that recently took steps towards legalizing marijuana.

I say again, really?

Full disclosure: I am not and never have been a marijuana person. When I was in junior high, I would gladly have done any drug I could find. Alas, the only drug I could find at the time was gasoline to sniff, which may explain a few billion missing brain cells. In the end, I'm OK with missing the drug train. I figure if alcohol was good enough for my old man and my Scotch-Irish ancestors, it's good enough for me.

But still...the whole war on drugs thing has proven to be about as good an idea as Prohibition. It kind of is the same idea. It has had all kinds of unintended consequences, nearly all of which are bad. It's been pointed out over and over that marijuana is not responsible for anything remotely resembling the body count racked up by alcohol and tobacco.

Let's face it: all law enforcement is selective. Shouldn't the administration have bigger fish to fry? And aren't there better uses for federal resources these days?

JUST ONE LINK, BUT ONE TOO GOOD TO IGNORE. Zombie-ism...it isn't just for humans anymore. Here's a look at zombie spiders.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

2 comments:

LdeG said...: "A more aggressive option is for the Justice Department to file lawsuits against the states to prevent them from setting up systems to regulate and tax marijuana, as the initiatives contemplated. If a court agrees that such regulations are pre-empted by federal ones, it will open the door to a broader ruling about whether the regulatory provisions can be severed from those eliminating state prohibitions or whether the entire initiatives must be struck down. "

At least one state already taxes and regulates marijuana - Texas requires a marijuana stamp, like a tobacco stamp, and actually prints them. As far as I know, no-one buys them, since marijuana is also illegal to possess and sell. But it seems to me that objecting to state regulation now doesn't have a leg to stand on, since the Feds have not objected for decades.; 12/7/12, 8:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Every president vigorously opposes any legalization of marijuana, just as every president finds wars to fight to use up US weapons, and opposes serious accords to reduce greenhouse gases, and for the same reason: they exist as the public face of a cabal that serves the 1% of the 1%--the megacorporations and the superrich. So why can't marijuana be legalized? There are several reasons. Hemp has many industrial uses, consequently its competitors prefer it stay illegal. Marijuana has many medical and recreational uses, hence ITS competitors prefer it to stay illegal (this'd be pharma and alcohol purveyors). It's a convenient excuse to hassle people the local PTB like to hassle: blacks, hispanics, musicians, hippies, freethinker types. It's responsible for a significant part of the massive prison system in the US, so profitable to certain groups. It provides an excuse to interfere in certain Latin American countries. But above all else, I suspect the kingpins of the pot trade are willing to pay to keep it illegal: these are the ones that make the big profits while taking very little risk. If marihuana were legal, the price would plummet overnight. It's easy to grow in any state in the country--easier than celery. How much per pound is celery worth? How much does a pound of pot sell for now?; 12/7/12, 9:52 AM