[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Sure, and as I've stated in the past, I'm all over decriminalization with conditions.

But first and formost, if you legalize dope, you don't think that the people that are subsidizing their income are just going to shrug their shoulders and say "Aw hell it was great having that money while it lasted". They're going to find other products and other markets.

We don't really know if this is true. Basically it assumes that a weed dealer, upon finding weed legalized, switches over to meth, crack, coke, or other illicit drugs. I don't see this as likely. Selling crack is not like selling marijuana... I'd be hard-pressed to find a drug with a social-scene as mild as marijuana. I've never dealt with a marijuana dealer who didn't have a day-job or go to school, personally. Crack dealers? No idea... but I'm doubting they spend their days going to Business School

Plus in terms of conditions, if the government legalizes that stuff, that means that the guy who grows his own stuff and sells it to his buddies is still going to be illegal, decriminalization just means that possession is ok, growing it and selling it is probably still going to be illegal as the dope business at least initially is going to be government controlled, the free enterprise aspect is going to be illegal as hell.

Why? People can make their own wine/beer right now... I don't see the difference between brewing your own booze and growing your own weed. It's a huge pain in the ass, and much easier just to buy ready-made stuff. The government won't be growing weed, just like they don't brew booze. They'll just regulate and collect.

I'm talking about legalization/taxation here... not just decriminilization.

If someone is smoking grass and gets in their car and drives, its still going to be operating under a controlled substance, if someone is doped out of their mind and acting like an a$$ in public they're still going to be charged for being under the influence.

Sure, no debate there.

I highly doubt that they're going to treat dope like smokes, they're going to treat it like liquor, which means you're not going to be allowed to hoot and drive, or have it within easy access in a motor vehicle. And if you do get pulled over under the influence or you do hit someone while high they're going to treat it the same as doing those acts while drinking.

That's fine, I don't see why smoking & driving should be allowed. I personally don't think it's that dangerous, but I also don't support being able to drive under the influence of any drug/liquor. No issues there.

The biggest market impact is that possession is probably still going to be illegal for minors just like liquor, they won't be able to buy it, or consume it in public, or walk around with it, so where are they going to get it? You want your illegal for profit market, thats where its going to be.

Where do they get their booze now? It's not exactly a public health disaster that underage kids are finding older siblings to bootleg booze for them. I'd be a lot cooler with my 16 year old smoking weed than drinking, but that's my own opinion. I think good parenting has more to do with preventing minors abusing these substances (just like booze now) than petty drug dealers.

I really have my doubts that decriminalization is going to change things all that much. The drug runners will work harder at getting harder drugs out there, the gangs are going to find a way to replace their income somehow, but I do like the taxation increase, but this shouldn't be about money.

The drug runners and gangs will be shoved out of the industry by big-business. It's not just about the money, it's also about the horrendous injustice of charging/convicting people for possessing marijuana.

You seem to be talking about both 'decriminilization' and 'taxation' at the same time, though I think their mutually exclusive. Taxes can't be collected without full legalization.

If the police want to solve the problems, then ignore the penny ante stuff and go harder after the supply lines and the producers, go after the jokers who sell this sh%t to kids to make money, in otherwords, instead of a blow torch use a precision guided missile.

As long as there is demand, you can arrest every dealer/grower/supplier you can find and 10 will replace them. Unless you can eliminate the demand (impossible, I'd suggest), you'll spend the rest of your life and all your money going after dealers/suppliers that are instantly replaced by... more dealers. The US has been busting the hell out of low and high-level dealers for decades, I don't see a shortage.