Jun 12 2014
Weedland: Inside America’s Marijuana Epicenter and How Pot Went Legit
The California city of San Jose just passed a resolution severely restricting the locations of medical marijuana dispensaries. The 7-3 decision will affect nearly all of San Jose’s roughly 80 pot shops, requiring them to move into only a handful of “industrial” areas. The shop owners are up in arms, saying the resolution amounts to a ban.
However, San Jose’s move contradicts the general trend toward greater liberalization of marijuana, not just for medicinal purposes but for recreational use also.
Today, cannabis is legally available for purchase and use in Colorado and Washington, while several other states have legalized medicinal use. The state-by-state laws are still in violation of federal law which considers marijuana an illegal narcotic.
However, Attorney General Eric Holder has made statements clarifying that federal agencies like the DEA would not prioritize raids of marijuana growers as had happened a number of times under the Bush administration, and most dramatically in California.
Today, marijuana is big business, and not restricted to providing pain relief for medical patients and the terminally ill.
GUEST: Peter Hecht, award winning journalist who writes for the Sacramento Bee and McClatchy newspapers, has written a new book meticulously documenting California’s battle to legalize marijuana called Weedland: Inside America’s Marijuana Epicenter and How Pot Went Legit.
3 Responses to “Weedland: Inside America’s Marijuana Epicenter and How Pot Went Legit”
Fear of Marijuana Legalization Nationwide is unfounded. Not based on any science or fact whatsoever. So please all you prohibitionists, we beg you to give your scare tactics, “Conspiracy Theories” and “Doomsday Scenarios” over the inevitable Legalization of Marijuana a rest. Nobody is buying them anymore these days. Okay?
Furthermore, if all you get when you look into that nice, big and shiny, crystal ball of yours, while wondering about the future of marijuana legalization, is horror, doom, and despair, well then I suggest you return that thing as quickly as possible and reclaim the money you shelled out for it, since it is obviously defective.
The prohibition of marijuana has not decreased the supply nor the demand for marijuana at all. Not one single iota, and it never will. Just a huge and complete waste of our tax dollars to continue criminalizing citizens for choosing a natural, non-toxic, relatively benign plant proven to be much safer than alcohol.
If you’re going to take it upon yourself to worry about “saving us all” from ourselves, then you need to start with the drug that causes more death and destruction than every other drug in the world COMBINED, which is alcohol!
Why do you feel the continued need to vilify and demonize marijuana when you could more wisely focus your efforts on a real, proven killer, alcohol, which again causes more destruction, violence, and death than all other drugs, COMBINED?
You really should get your priorities straight and or practice a little live and let live. You’ll live longer, happier, and healthier, with a lot less stress if you refrain from being hell bent on trying to control others through Draconian Marijuana Laws.
The “War on Marijuana” has been a complete and utter failure. It is the largest component of the broader yet equally unsuccessful “War on Drugs” that has cost our country over a trillion dollars.
Instead of The United States wasting Billions upon Billions more of our tax dollars fighting a never ending “War on Marijuana”, lets generate Billions of dollars, and improve the deficit instead. It’s a no brainer.
The Prohibition of Marijuana has also ruined the lives of many of our loved ones. In numbers greater than any other nation, our loved ones are being sent to jail and are being given permanent criminal records which ruin their chances of employment for the rest of their lives, and for what reason?
Marijuana is much safer, and healthier to consume than alcohol. Yet do we lock people up for choosing to drink?
Let’s end this hypocrisy now!
The government should never attempt to legislate morality by creating victim-less “crimes” because it simply does not work and costs the taxpayers a fortune.
Marijuana Legalization Nationwide is an inevitable reality that’s approaching much sooner than prohibitionists think and there is nothing they can do to stop it!
Legalize Nationwide! Support Each and Every Marijuana Legalization Initiative!
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