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Monday, December 14th, 2009
Oh wow man
Monday, December 14th, 2009 03:25 pm.
So it looks like organizers have more than enough signatures to get a measure put on the California ballot in 2010 to legalize marijuana. The measure would legalize:
Possession by an adult of up to 1 ounce of weed
The right to grow your own in a 25-square foot space on your property
Local governments to decide on sales within their areas
So this would put us more or less back where we were in the 70's, when Steve Martin said in his comedy show, "Boy, I wouldn't smoke marijuana in California these days. You can get a ticket for that!"
Here's my thinking.
I believe weed should be legal for adults to possess, so long as they don't go about doing dangerous things while stoned, like driving heavy machinery or handling firearms. I think both of those should carry stiff penalties.
I believe adults should have the right to grow their own weed for personal use, and that means ANY personal use, medical or otherwise, the above exceptions still applying.
HOWEVER
Given both of those passing into law, I believe selling weed should not be legal unless you have a license, just as with any other comestible. Sellers should have to apply for a permit and submit to occasional inspections if they want to sell to the public. There's way too much shit-headed criminality associated these days with weed, and apologies to all the lovely dealers I've known through the years, it's not the hippie days anymore. The black market in weed gets people killed, so it should go.
Besides, if you can grow your own, you have no need to buy weed. It's probably the world's easiest plant to grow, even easier than tomatoes, for gods' sakes. I should know, 'cause I did it when I lived in Santa Cruz. Not a lot, just a dozen small plants in one oak half-barrel out in the sun on a secluded porch. Got the seeds from a friend, sprouted and planted them. Other than watering, and pouring some fish-meal solution on the soil every three weeks or so, I didn't have to do anything, and got a lovely crop of quite good weed. It was ridiculously easy, and if I'd had the means and legal freedom to do more, I probably could have had a very good crop in that beautiful space. After all, it ain't called "weed" for nothin'!
So I do hope this law passes, because it's about damn time we stopped wasting money on this non-crime, and filling our jails with people who don't deserve to be there. We had legal weed in CA in the 70's, and there was no epidemic of HORRID CRIME OMG. All that happened back then was...people smoked weed. Just like now, except they weren't scared. And nobody died or anything. Imagine that.
So it looks like organizers have more than enough signatures to get a measure put on the California ballot in 2010 to legalize marijuana. The measure would legalize:
Possession by an adult of up to 1 ounce of weed
The right to grow your own in a 25-square foot space on your property
Local governments to decide on sales within their areas
So this would put us more or less back where we were in the 70's, when Steve Martin said in his comedy show, "Boy, I wouldn't smoke marijuana in California these days. You can get a ticket for that!"
Here's my thinking.
I believe weed should be legal for adults to possess, so long as they don't go about doing dangerous things while stoned, like driving heavy machinery or handling firearms. I think both of those should carry stiff penalties.
I believe adults should have the right to grow their own weed for personal use, and that means ANY personal use, medical or otherwise, the above exceptions still applying.
HOWEVER
Given both of those passing into law, I believe selling weed should not be legal unless you have a license, just as with any other comestible. Sellers should have to apply for a permit and submit to occasional inspections if they want to sell to the public. There's way too much shit-headed criminality associated these days with weed, and apologies to all the lovely dealers I've known through the years, it's not the hippie days anymore. The black market in weed gets people killed, so it should go.
Besides, if you can grow your own, you have no need to buy weed. It's probably the world's easiest plant to grow, even easier than tomatoes, for gods' sakes. I should know, 'cause I did it when I lived in Santa Cruz. Not a lot, just a dozen small plants in one oak half-barrel out in the sun on a secluded porch. Got the seeds from a friend, sprouted and planted them. Other than watering, and pouring some fish-meal solution on the soil every three weeks or so, I didn't have to do anything, and got a lovely crop of quite good weed. It was ridiculously easy, and if I'd had the means and legal freedom to do more, I probably could have had a very good crop in that beautiful space. After all, it ain't called "weed" for nothin'!
So I do hope this law passes, because it's about damn time we stopped wasting money on this non-crime, and filling our jails with people who don't deserve to be there. We had legal weed in CA in the 70's, and there was no epidemic of HORRID CRIME OMG. All that happened back then was...people smoked weed. Just like now, except they weren't scared. And nobody died or anything. Imagine that.