More Legalization Talk

Certainly a positive step in the right direction. This topic always seems to get heated for various reasons. The us vs them is a rediculous debate. Opinions on how and what we should be doing as a community will always be divided. We either accept it and advance as a society, or forever bicker over our opinions until it destroys us. My thoughts are, whether it's money or time, spend it on educating rather than profiting off people behind bars. We as a species created a system to govern our minds and bodies, we are the ones that can change it for better or worse.

The thing that scares me is the TAXES. From day one when the tax was only supposed to be during the war, just to help the government. Look at us know! pay more and more, for more and more things. Give them an inch, and they will take any extra money you have. Prime example, the current price increase for an OMMP card.

Zildjian said:

The thing that scares me is the TAXES. From day one when the tax was only supposed to be during the war, just to help the government. Look at us know! pay more and more, for more and more things. Give them an inch, and they will take any extra money you have. Prime example, the current price increase for an OMMP card.

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Once a goverment progam is started it will almost never be stopped and that includes the I.R.S. yes its sad but true. I worked in a lumber mill in Carver, Or. and on the wall of the break room door was a huge old poster that had been there since the mill was first running about how the income tax was for the war effort and would be ended at the end of the war. Very cool poster but as usual our parents and grandparents where lied too.

So with legalization comes regulation and taxes. Why don't we just legalize it, make sure not another person stays a minute in jail for the possession or consumption of Cannabis, not another persons life is ruined for taking advantage of the benefits of marijuana. Then we can argue all you want about the other small stuff.

Look at WA and CO, not one thing done yet, everybody waiting to see how the Feds will react. Do not want that in OR. Most of the lower state med peeps don't want the legalization, sorry, its just the Portland people and lets face it, they thought the dispansary law was gonna pass and they thought the legalization was gonna pass last time. it won't pass this time either. They claim it won't affect the medical community, it most certainly will. And when it all comes down to time to vote, the state's cash croppers will vote it down as they won't make near as much trying to get a license and selling to the state as they do on the black market. Its already being discussed on many compassionate sites to not vote for legalization, so good luck with all that.

hillbillyherbs said:

Once a goverment progam is started it will almost never be stopped and that includes the I.R.S. yes its sad but true. I worked in a lumber mill in Carver, Or. and on the wall of the break room door was a huge old poster that had been there since the mill was first running about how the income tax was for the war effort and would be ended at the end of the war. Very cool poster but as usual our parents and grandparents where lied too.

So with legalization comes regulation and taxes. Why don't we just legalize it, make sure not another person stays a minute in jail for the possession or consumption of Cannabis, not another persons life is ruined for taking advantage of the benefits of marijuana. Then we can argue all you want about the other small stuff.

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Don't get me wrong, I want it legalized I'm just saying let it be taxed and it will never end, and will just get higher taxes. I wish it would stay the same as it is, but those that arn't medical and want to smoke can either grow their own, or go to a dispensary. The way I think it gonna end up is only certain people will be allowed to grow, and will have to sell it to dispensary's, and if you want to smoke it you will have to buy it from them and be taxed on it. This is the problem I have with it.

How can we get it flat out legalized? There needs to be incentive for the anti canna crowd as well as the growers making a living off the current black market. I think a practical compromise is a tax of 10% on retail sales only, and that money goes to education. Medical will only get more professional, citizens can have plants without regulations. Most smokers don't want to grow, so there will still be plenty of money to be made for the big guys.

Too bad it's all a game, UN will take control eventually

That's not enough incentive for the anti-canna crowd to give up... and like they said, once you open it up to taxation, those taxes just increase and increase over time even if they start out small. Flat out legalized? Doubtful ever -- there's no incentive for the state or anti-canna crowd to do so. Tightly regulated and taxed yes, flat out legalized probably never.

ReefBongwell said:

That's not enough incentive for the anti-canna crowd to give up... and like they said, once you open it up to taxation, those taxes just increase and increase over time even if they start out small. Flat out legalized? Doubtful ever -- there's no incentive for the state or anti-canna crowd to do so. Tightly regulated and taxed yes, flat out legalized probably never.

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Exactly, and before you know it, we will be paying 300.00 plus an OZ

Right, so is 3371 a compromise that's actually realistic? Zildjian, prices would be cheap to expensive, just like everything else we consume.

Damn nice, good points everybody. Its nice to have a great conversation for a change. But I still think it should be legal across the board, hemp, recreational and medical then lets see what happens.
And I am in the Portland area so I guess my opinions are a little bent by the area I live in.

Well anyone who's a part of the medical community but voted down legalization is a hypocrite, if there were no medical states but in terms of legalization and decriminalization we were at the same place that we are now in terms of progressively moving towards legalization, then none of you would be so righteous about the little details that don't matter and can be changed later, you'd just be hoping some form of legalization legislation passed in your state. I think everyone has gotten a little spoiled with dispensaries, grow co-ops, lax laws, etc.

blazed420daze said:

Well anyone who's a part of the medical community but voted down legalization is a hypocrite, if there were no medical states but in terms of legalization and decriminalization we were at the same place that we are now in terms of progressively moving towards legalization, then none of you would be so righteous about the little details that don't matter and can be changed later, you'd just be hoping some form of legalization legislation passed in your state. I think everyone has gotten a little spoiled with dispensaries, grow co-ops, lax laws, etc.

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Totally agree. While I DEFINATELY think marijuana DOES provide relief for chronic conditions and many people NEED it as a medicine, I think limiting its usefulness to just that is silly. In my opinion about 80% of the whole medical scene are recreational users who want to be legal irregardless of a "medical condition" AND TO ME THIS IS FINE except to those excluded because they don't have the cash to pay the "entrance fees". Everyone should have the right to smoke and grow this plant. It's The people who believe MJ to be their personal plant and that those using it outside "doctor's orders" are "just making it harder on the people who really need it" who truely make my skin crawl. The whole thing is a money scam for the most part, and everyone has their hands out from the doctor you go see and the state you send your forms in to, to the dispensary running "not for profit". In my opinion the true value of the MMJ era will have been that it was one of the steps that will have lead to total decriminalization, which in my opinion is inevitable.

Bunch of stoner idiots. See where the selling in the gray area gets ya. Southern Norml was the home of the fiddy dollar eights, lmfao, see where that got them. Feds have been investigating for two years and got the list of growers as mentioned in the other thread since last november, seems as if they didn't fuck around, eh, Ms Duckworth? LMFAO I been tellin you folks, too open bout it all, being stupid.

http://www.ktvl.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/ktvl_vid_7165.shtml

Amazing to spend 2 years with 70 officers to bust 8 grows..think of the real problems that could have been solved with all that. You're right though, there are straight up idiots at both the "highest" and lowest levels of this whole thing. I went to check out a dispensary earlier this week on a random whim and they didn't even want to bother to check my paperwork. Best just to keep your nose buried in your own garden and not get caught up in trying to make an empire out of all this. Or at least don't be silly enough not to expect repercussions for doing so.