and I was born in a log cabin...(actually, more like a plank cabin)
Remember those $65 kilos? Good old Mex "dirt weed"! Friend of mine once found a mummified mouse in one! (I wonder which comment made more jaws drop? The $65/kilo price? Or the mouse? lol)
And I think it is possible that cannabis will be legalized for medical use (as decided by each state) (a) During Obama's first 6 months- just to get us bothersome "hippies and sickies" off his neck. Or (b) During the last 6 months of his first term as a way to re-elected.
I'm hoping for the best of both worlds- MMJ rescheduling and states making their own laws about it, during the first 6 months. Followed by full legalization during the last 6 months as a way to get re-elected.
More likely is that, full legalization will still be "in the works" and it will (again ) be an election issue. (The Republicans will roadblock every step to make it that way. Then expect some "Do you want dopers running the gov?" campaigning from the Repubs. )
Dang! It's an enjoyable, healing herb, that doesn't give you a hangover if you abuse/overuse it, and has never killed anyone by overdose! To top it off, it stops MS progression, may cure cancer, might prevent Alzheimer's and it kills MRSA bacteria! Why isn't it legal?
Granny
The trick - and it's so easy a law student could do it - is to draft the tax so that it is facially neutral, even though it clearly only applies to certain people or activities.
Thus, it would be perfectly legitimate to impose a tax of 90 percent on all compensation in excess of $50,000 paid and/or received by persons in regard to work performed in 2008 or thereafter in service of a corporation whose principal office in 2008 was in Connecticut and which in 2008 maintained an office in London, England, and which work pertained to CDOs, CDSs or any combination of them.
They used to be called "rifle shots", back pre the 1986 tax reform act. In those days, Congress would include obscurely-written clauses in bills, usually providing for tax relief. They would apply, for example, to all corporations incorporated in Delaware on July 15, 1916 (or some other obscure date) and presently having a principal place of business in Michigan (i.e., only to Ford Motor Co.), and were usually used to allow corporations (or wealthy individuals - Trump used to get some) to get around depreciation rules
great thread!
this was an interesting blog on the subject. from a couple years ago, but the substance/theme is the same.
Republicans Try Marijuana at Higher Rate Than Democrats
Posted in Chronicle Blog by David Guard on Mon, 11/26/2007 - 4:07pm
It’ll come as a surprise to most, but Republicans try marijuana at a higher rate than Democrats. A Gallup poll found that 33% of Republicans have tried America’s favorite (and safest) illicit drug while a slightly lower 31% of Democrats have inhaled the celebrated herb.
Thinking back, I remember when it was learned that House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman and other Republicans had enjoyed marijuana in their pasts, and I recall the 2002 Republican congressional page scandal in which eleven pot smoker pages sponsored by Republican House members were dismissed subsequent to the discovery of marijuana in their Capitol Hill dormitory. I guess I should have put two and two together.
Politically speaking, the obvious question is “Why doesn’t this translate into more Republican support for marijuana decriminalization or legalization?” Only 21% of Republicans want the herb legalized while 37% of Democrats do. Do Republicans experience different effects? Do they feel guilty after imbibing?
Maybe we just need more Republicans to bring their views on marijuana laws out of the closet. Take Gary Johnson for instance. The former Republican governor of New Mexico supported the legalization of marijuana in a very public way when he was in office, in fact, he was eager to make it part of his legacy. He also wanted people to understand that he didn’t just “experiment” with the weed: “In running for office during my first term, I offered up the fact that I smoked marijuana. And the media was very quick to say, ‘Oh, so you experimented with marijuana’…No, I smoked marijuana. This is something that I did. I did it along with a lot of other people. But me and my buddies, you know…we enjoyed what we were doing,” said Johnson in 1999.
Of course, there’s another high-profile Republican not shying away from telling people marijuana should be legal -- Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) who has served in Congress for almost 20 years. And, heck, he just recently set the GOP’s one-day fundraising record of $4.3 million. Hmmm, it sure doesn’t seem like his supporters are afraid of his marijuana legalization spiel.
George Shultz, former Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan, also wants marijuana legalized. Almost 20 years ago, he coined an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal to tell people “...We need at least to consider and examine forms of controlled legalization of drugs.”
Another of Reagan’s most trusted aides, Lyn Nofziger, who also worked for Nixon and shares responsibility for unleashing the Reagan drug war on America, joined Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) at a 2002 Capitol Hill press conference to support a federal medical marijuana bill and to push President Bush and other Republicans to get onboard. “I've become an advocate of medical marijuana…It is truly compassionate. I sincerely hope the administration can get behind this bill,” he said.
And then there are some of the Republican Party’s luminaries. Highly respected and influential ultra-conservatives like William F. Buckley, Jr. and Milton Friedman have called for marijuana legalization at least since Nixon famously visited Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai in 1972. I suppose the appropriate question is “When will the Republicans decide to take the high road to China on this one?”
the Repubs are afraid of alienating the Religous base. you would think that the repubs. would spin this as a compassionate act so they wouldnt offend those Religous voters. i referring to national recognition of the Medicinal Benefits of Cannabis.
rescheduling Cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule II controlled substance is the first step in getting the truth out about this plant.
SSH
The religious right did not vote for Obama, and you can bet on that.This man is no different than other politicians. Pandering to the ignorant and superstitious, he has to think about the narrow minds of those who vote for him. Think the religious right.