Stoners at the LaTimes? STOP THE PRESSES!

(and forget to restart them)

Make that LYING MALINGERING STONERS AT LATIMES.

So a bunch of people in California [and the rest of the nation] want to smoke pot. Big deal. I personally don't choose to do it; but, if you want to be a stoner why should I care? As long as you're not fucking me over by infringing upon my person or property do whatever the hell you want.

Yeah yeah, libertarianism yeahyeah. Listen, I think smoking dope fucks people up. Maybe not tragically and certainly not in most cases, but it would be better if people stopped being so blasé about it.

Say, wait a minute. "Bunch Of Potheads"?

Isn't this the sort of totally responsible behavior you insist decriminalization of (some) drugs would instantly bring?

Smoking pot may fuck up some people. I don't really know because I don't care enough to look at the empirical research.

But the fact that the last three sitting presidents' have admitted to using pot doesn't bode well for the theory that this drug does major harm. Hell our current president has admitted to using freaking cocaine, and over half of the country thinks he's doing an awesome job.

Even if pot does harm people who cares?

Alcohol, cigarettes, and lottery tickets fuck up some people too. I don't hear that we should be wasting taxpayers money to try and ban those to. Prohibition didn't work in the past and it doesn't work now.

Hell huff gas out of a paper bag for all I care; just leave me the hell alone and we're cool.

Sell pot through liquor stores, provided liquor store owners buy a $10 "pot stamp" for every dime bag they sell.
Pay down the national debt---also tax rich people a lot more.
Next problem.
BOTU looses his bowels on the current state control of pot use.

>>>Yeah yeah, libertarianism yeahyeah. Listen, I think smoking dope fucks people up. Maybe not tragically and certainly not in most cases, but it would be better if people stopped being so blasé about it.

Yes, smoking dope can possibly have a significantly negative effect on marijuana users. Further, I agree that usage of it should not be blase (discouraging use is not a bad idea). What, though, does that mean? If some people are blase about it, should we then throw large amounts law enforcement resources at it? What makes the most sense regarding pot laws? As I see it laws currently governing pot are grossly hypocritical considering the availability (and tangible negative consequences) of liquor (prescription drugs??).

> What makes the most sense
> regarding pot laws?

Um,... !

I dunno. Maybe same thing we do re: alcohol for minors: Lax enforcement. Society should make it clear that it's not something for children to play with, and then pretty much back off. Concern about hypocrisy is often childish. A life without hypocrisy is a life without nuance... Ours is not such a planet.

While no kind of addict myself, I've been talking with a friend about the ravages of addiction, and the tentacled presence of addictive response in human character. Substance abuse can really, really fuck people up. It's a huge force in the human experience. Even if you've never indulged yourself, your life has almost certainly been directly affected by the addictions of others.

Considering the power that this holds over us as a species, to throw up your hands (and drop your copy of Reason magazine to the floor) and exclaim "Hey man, it's your life!" seems irresponsible... As irresponsible as being unconcerned about malnutrition or auto safety.

A well balanced life of nuance and hypocrisy aside, should we just throw our hands up over hypocrisy because it has its upside? The magnitude of hypocrisy matters (as it should).

I agree that "hey, it's your life" isn't perfect (and can be irresponsible). The trouble we get into is in the alternative. The reason better be compelling to pass laws that say "hey, it's somewhat your life".

I don't smoke pot, I tried it a few times when I was younger but it's never been my thing. But I do know people who it helps. My MIL had severe rheumatoid arthritis, she kept a bottle of rubbing alcohol with marijuana to rub on her joints and it helped with the pain and inflammation. I'm going in for a spinal fusion in 2 weeks and can't take any of my normal pain meds for the next 2 weeksm I can only take Tylenol, which won't even begin to touch my pain. I thought about getting a card to see if it would keep my pain levels down. I doubt I will. But it's nice to know that should I chose to go that route, I won't have to slink around some dark alley looking to score. Legalize the stuff, tax it, cut the drug dealers off, and make a ton of money. I don't need the Nanny State telling me what's good or bad for me. I'm an adult. The funny thing is, I can get all the prescription drugs I want, which are just as addictive and more harmful than pot...

I know some people who have a serious pot problem - they're dopey and cranky most of the time, hard to deal with, the pot makes them paranoid, and if they run out, they're REAL assholes.

However, I know an equal number of potheads who are so normal that you could know them for years and never guess. They can do everything "real" grownup humans are expected to do, and have successful, professional careers. They don't smoke constantly, either, and they're fine if they have to go without. You can take a road trip with them and they won't forget a thing!

In my acquaintance, the problem potheads most likely outnumber the high-functioning ones, but who knows? If you took the pot away from the problem users, they'd still be slackers.

Pot + Sex = HellYeah!

No time for a detailed comment, but:

1) I hate the nanny state.

2) The Feds need a demon to fight and it ain't never gonna be booze or tobacco.

3) See #2, I HATE HATE HATE the fact that the Feds are more interested in misleading us with ineffectual bullshit (Airport, anyone?) than developing REAL solutions to REAL problems. But lots of people are impressed and reassured by that crap. War on Drugs my ass.

Congress: The largest group of collectively useless people.

4) I'm lucky to have sampled the usual suspects, mostly during college, and never once had the hint of an addiction so, although I think of addicts as losers, I admit I'm not really qualified to judge people in that way. Turned down a chance at Acid b/c I didn't think I'd return from the trip.

PS

NYS took its time issuing me a new Photo drivers license so had no photo ID during most recent airport venture. Upside is they give you the VIP treatment through the express lane! Not that I'm recommending this strategy heh heh heh!

@Sara: "I'm going in for a spinal fusion in 2 weeks and can't take any of my normal pain meds for the next 2 weeks..."

Oh, ouch, Sara! Both my younger daughters had to go through that to treat scoleosis, the elder one a couple of years ago, the younger just in the past month and a half. While they were laid up for a little while after surgery, both healed up pretty quickly. Do you know how long you'll be out of action?

RPM - 6 hours in surgery, 4-5 days in the hospital and 6-8 weeks off work. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all that free time!! I'll probably post on here all day everyday...look out!

Glad to hear your daughters came through quickly, I'm not as young as I used to be, so I'm hoping for a quick recovery.

"Legalize the stuff, tax it, cut the drug dealers off, and make a ton of money. I don't need the Nanny State telling me what's good or bad for me."

Well, here's as fine an example of just plain schizophrenia as can be found among our population of those who think they are reasonable, mostly because they hold whatever view they're expressing.

Ahem. When you legalize and tax something, the Nanny State will indeed tell you, not ask you, what to do, because you demand it. You demand consumer protections.

When you move from financing Thuggy on the streetcorner to paying Pfizer, you'll demand quality and consistency all of a sudden.

Radwaste, please don't lump me into your broad sweeping generalizations. I would prefer big brother, er, I mean big government stay out of my life. Besides, I wouldn't be one of the ones lined up at the dispensary waiting for my daily/weekly pot supply. But the tax dollars generated from legalizing pot sure would help out in this third world country - California - that I live in.

Sara, sorry, but that's just plain bull~. You can try to step out of it, but the plain fact is that American consumers want guarantees on the products they consume. If you try to claim you don't do that when you buy anything, well, I'm sorry you'll lie to me like that.

For crying out loud, you haven't even been paying attention on this blog. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has not only insisted that your flea-market clothes be proven lead-free, they forbade motorcycle dealers from selling motorized anything for the use of children under 15 because there's lead in the valve stems and brake levers and infer that kids might eat them.

Go read up on what "legalize" means. Finish the thought before deciding it's precious. You just plain advocated something without thinking it through - exactly why so many are in a jam today. I'm not sweeping at all. You've expressed a truly common thought, however incomplete.

Rad...wow, you know me, you really know me. Do I want to know that the blow dryer I'm buying isn't going to blow up and I end up with a chunk of plastic lodged in my head, yeah. Do I think I need the tag on the cord reminding me not to use it in the bathtub or while I'm asleep? Hell no, I'm not that stupid! Not to mention it pisses me off that someone moron sued the manufacturer at some point and won a settlement because she tried to blow dry her hair in the bathtub and that now contributes to the increased cost for a new blow dryer.

Two things come to mind when I read some of your posts, 1) you like a good debate, which I always appreciate; and 2) you like to make inflammatory comments.

I think the biggest piece of bullshit when any legislation is passed is that "it's for the children". It isn't for the children it's so the adults don't have to take any responsibility. Which is exactly what those two examples are about - and I would like to point out that I don't agree with them at all. But my point about legalizing pot is the fact that we are spending billions of dollars a year fighting a war we aren't going to win. I would rather see it legalized and those that want to smoke it can deal with whatever bullshit (can I type that here?) strings that are attached to it. It won't affect me, because I don't smoke it. I feel the same way about prostitution...stop spending my tax dollars trying to fight something that isn't going to go away...regulate it like they do in Nevada, and leave my money alone. Not only that, I figure at some point natural selection will kick in...of course that's wishful thinking on my part.