knowledge sets you free
Let me start by saying I think Richard lee is really just looking out for his own business with this bill. He wants to keep people from growing larger amounts at home, so they will still need to go to shops like his from time to time to pick up when they run out. That is one of the major problems I see with this bill when comparing it to the others. Its like telling people they can make their own beer, but only use 25 sqft to make it.. which basically making one keg. For all of us beer drinkers we know that a keg is not going to last very long :)
There is going to have to be some kinda tax on the sale/production.. I agree with purpleberry that this is probably the only way legalization is possible. As far as im concerned this is just a small problem compared to the alternative which is getting $300+ tickets for having a 1/2 a gram on you. I think this drug war has gone on long enough, and personally no matter what legalization bill gets put on the ballot this year, im voting for it. I would hope that everyone else do the same regardless of a few small details on a bill that they are not happy with.
Im tired of my government telling me what I can grow/smoke.If this or any of the bills pass, it could trigger a much larger change in the whole country to legalize and stop punishing people for smoking a plant..... The right bill to you may not be the right bill for everyone (non-smokers included) , and we have to find something that works for the majority.
All of that being said.. does anyone really think the cops are going to go into everyones house with a tape measure and see if their grow space is 25sqft?.. hehe :)
The problem with voting blindly for a bill that claims to legalize is your just replacing one set of failed policies with another. Instead of $300 fines for a 1/2 gram this bill fines/jails people for amounts over an ounce, which is completely unrealistic for any size grow or decent collection of strains. Which IMO kind of defeats the purpose of legalization in the first place. What you fail to understand if this bill does pass and triggers a nationwide movement it is not being done in the interest of enhancing our civil rights, its quite the opposite really. You would be handing control of your ability to cultivate and consume to the gov't/big corporations and as a penalty for your behavior you will be taxed exorbitantly as you continue to fund wasteful gov't spending. Not to mention you will be paying the same amount or more for the same or worse weed you get now. This bill actually creates an entirely new regulatory committee and process. Home cultivators will have to be licensed and inspected(if you like going to the dmv and waiting in line just wait for this licensing process) and yes, these new pot cops will have tape measures mind you, and there whole purpose will be to fine you. The amount of fees associated with licensing for home cultivation will make home cultivation unrealistically expensive. Unless of course you want to illegally cultivate without a license and be fined/imprisoned. This deterrent obviously creates the largest consumer base possible which is the only way the future giant weed corporations of tomorrow will be able to profit off you.
I stand for the legalization of marijuana in its purist forms, not this psuedo legalization bill designed to recriminalize marijuana for the purpose of profiteering. I'm not saying the current system isn't flawed and shouldn't be fixed. What I am saying is this is like curing a stab wound with a shotgun. Don't be fooled by these money hungry people who have spent the last decade profiting off the medical marijuana movement, and are now looking to turn their millions into billions. Look deeper, examine their obvious motivations.
BTW I'll happily debate any proponent of this legislation any time, bring it on.
A little somewhat unknown reminder, less than 100 years ago we didn't have 95% of the taxes we have today. Granted, we didn't have many things 100 years ago, but in another 100 will breathing be taxed?
The other fatal flaws are best described by Dennis Peron founder of prop 215,(especially concerning our youth) the recently fired oaksterdam employee of yours truly Richard Lee for merely voicing his opposition to this bill. I'll let Dennis take it from here (thanks again rollin J)
Why I Oppose the “Tax & Regulate” Marijuana Initiative (by Dennis Peron)
Three Fatal Flaws
1. One ounce limit? 25 sq. foot per building garden size limit? Imagine a law to “tax and regulate” alcohol that only allows for possession of up to one bottle of wine imprisoning those who exceed that amount, be it two bottles or a small collection of choice vintages. These limits guarantee confusion, harassment and black marketeering forevermore. We don’t control alcohol by imposing a 25 sq. foot limit on grape vines. But one extra gram or sq. foot of pot means jail and even worse; this initiative specifies that if accused of having too much cannabis the burden of proof is on you, not the state.
2. Singling out those who want to use marijuana for a huge excise tax is just plain unfair. It maintains cannabis as the most expensive, blatantly overpriced product on the market thus forcing most people to choose cheaper, more dangerous drugs with huge externalized costs to society as a whole.
3. Sending teenagers to state prison for three years for pot is evil. This initiative mandates that 18, 19, and twenty year old minors serve three to seven year terms in California state prison for the crime of passing each other a joint or selling one another a small amount. Under this law if a 21 year old person passes a joint to a 20 year old he or she goes to county jail for six months. Likewise this measure has no exceptions for parents in their own homes from the “smoking cannabis in any space while minors are
present” prohibition. We don’t lock up parents for having a glass of wine with dinner and we certainly don’t tell the kids to leave the house for the purpose of consuming any other substance so why start with cannabis?
This initiative is bad for parents, students and ultimately the effort to get the state to stop ruining lives enforcing these draconian pot laws. Initiatives create permanent statutes. This one with its petty restrictions for personal users, prohibitive unfair taxes, and mandatory state prison sentences for teen agers need be nipped in the bud. We will campaign and vote against it should its proponents succeed in purchasing the necessary number of signatures to put it on the 2010 ballot. The tax revenue it will supposedly generate is a mere smokescreen for the kids it will regulate into three, five and seven year state prison sentences.
Perpetuating and increasing the hundred million plus tax dollars per year the state already spends policing this harmless plant is wrong yet that is exactly what this proposition does. Surely we can do better than this. How about just legalizing it, getting the state off pot to save lives and real money across the board? Please consider how you can help expose and defeat this misleading “tax and regulate” initiative.
Dennis Peron, Author of Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
3745 17th street, SFCA 94114 (415) 864 – 1961
[email protected]
