Ask the White House: The War On Drugs Gets A Hearing

“Drug policy is a big issue for the online minions.”
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MS — Perhaps it was not your intention, but the inclusion of this sentence in your post is alarmingly dismissive. How can the media claim to be the voice of the American people while simultaneously demonstrating their lack of respect for the people?
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BTW — Ms this is not the first time that you use words to assert your superiority and diminish those you are discussing.

Legalizing and normalizing and taxing marijuana isn’t a good idea, its a GREAT idea but unfortunatley nobody in the next 20 years will have enough political will to get it done. Legalizing takes away the market from the dealers putting them out of business. It also allows for limits just like the legal drinking age. It takes away the mystique and “coolness” factor for experimenters. Its a crop that can grow damn near anywhere which means it could be a boon to almost any state. The money from taxes alone could probably fill the deficit in five years. Hemp could also be cultivated for all kinds of uses on the cheap. I could go on and on but like I said its moot because it would never happen.

We’re minions? Is this payback for us calling you a hack? A quick check of Webster’s makes me think being called a minion isn’t a compliment. Game on.

I’ve got numbers! Does this elevate me from minion ststus?

OT, but we’re starting a conversation on ConservaDems at sgw’s place.
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Rachel Maddow Makes Conservadems Look Silly

Our failed drug policy, much like our chronic budget defecits, is an artifact of our democratic system coupled with short attentions span of humans in general.
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When asked about drugs and crime people invariably favor a ‘lock-em-up’ mentality because they don’t personally use drugs and they don’t think carefully about the actual consequences of their attitude. Politicians get re-elected by playing on people’s fears and whole segments of the population are marginalized by the simple fact that they are in an unpopular minority.
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Add to that the utility that urban police can use drug laws to put away people they can’t convict for more serious crimes and you have a recipe for an ugly status quo.

It’s about time! I just hope he doesn’t punt the discussion AGAIN since pot has been the number one question in the past contests too.

Did you know that Massachusetts just introduced a similar bill to California’s into their legislature?

If we can elect a black (and white) president, anything can happen!

Michael Scherer:
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Before we all take great offense, please clarify:
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Drug policy is a big issue for the online minions.
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You meant that to read “for the online millions“, didn’t you?

For obvious reasons, Obama can’t be the one to champion the cause of legalizing Marijuana. However, if his administration succeeds in returning us to a science-based or evidenced based society, then perhaps they are paving the way for at least decriminalization in the very near future.
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Notably, it would seem that since we are apparently duplicating every other aspect of the Great Depression we ought to remember that we also took that opportunity to get rid of prohibition, and for the same reasons I might add, the ability to regulate and tax so that the government could reap substantial financial benefits at a time of economic upheaval.
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Lastly, for those who don’t get the obvious reasons (that would be you MS), since Marijuana was basically outlawed using the racist demagoguery of reefer madness, I can only imagine the racist response of the right wing toward a black president who dared to take up the cause.

SZ: I am continually impressed by your intellect. Providing the MSM minions with a graceful excuse only adds to my respect.

would online masses be better? online numbers? online users? would it matter if i counted myself among the minions online, that is, someone who uses and depends on the interwebbing? No offense intended.

My guess is that MS is already a seriously closeted major stoner. How else can his posts be explained?

Ask and you shall receive!!

Apparently, drug policy is also a big issue for the Secretary of State:
And she acknowledged that U.S. anti-drug policies have failed, noting that “clearly, what we have been doing has not worked and it is unfair for our incapacity . . . to be creating a situation where people are holding the Mexican government and people responsible.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-clinton26-2009mar26,0,2128382.story

OK. I’m pacified. You aren’t a hack now. I meant to type award winning journalist. If marijuana is ever legalized, I’ll burn one with you just to show there are no hard feelings. I’ll bring the papers. You bring the weed.

I’m with SG, you could go on all day long about the many pros and few cons, if there are any cons.
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There is no debating this issue on merit. Like tin foil hats at a Palin rally, this sells itself.
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Nobody can honestly tell you that cigarettes are safer than Mary Jane. What other questions are there?
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Our laws have made it easier for children to get weed than cigs and alchohol. Well done.

Make Obama’s ambitions realistic. Legalize marijuana.

I have numblys too, but they are truncated on the left hand side. I only see half the first digit.
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WAAAAAAAAH!
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No seriously, I have default fonts in IE, too, if the High Sheriffs deign to look into it…

And lay off MS, seriously.

Michael, I be beginnin’ t’ think ye be usin’ these here inflammatory-type words t’ boost yer numbers, mate! Surely ye can’t be this bleedin’ ignorant o’ the connotations o’ th’ words ye be employin’, right? Orwell??? Minions??? Seriously, matey, ye did not be understandin ye’d be roilin’ the waters by usin’ these partic’lar terms? Blimey, me hearty! I’m thinkin’ ye’ve got a right sderious case o’ brine on th’ brain!
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Ye could’ve launched a thoughtful discussion o’ th’ merits an’ perils o’ legalizin’ marijuana, but instead ye’ve gone an’ planted yer foot in a giant pile o’ fish guts again.
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YARR!

Sacred, You bring the weed.
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Ha! If I had a nickle…

Drat! I were flyin’ full spinnaker downwind in me grammatical fury!
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Also, Michael me bucko – might ye be havin’ any “numbers” regardin’ questions relatin’ t’ th’ subject o’ universal health insurance in yer bag-o-booty? Since me own question an’ those I were a votin’ fer were more related t’ that wee subject, I be wonderin’ whether we could o’ been talkin’ ’bout that instead o’ veerin’ off course wi’ th’ minion storm.
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ARRGH!

I only see a sliver of a number on the left hand side but hey I guess its better than nothing.
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Scherer is now officially the boy who cried wolf. You see if you say silly sh*t enough times people will just start looking for silly sh*t in all your posts. And if there is every ambiguity most people are going to take it as silly sh*t.
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Moral to the story? STOP POSTING SILLY SH*T!

Aye, SG, it would be a fair, bright mornin’ were I t’ come t’ me swamp an’ find th’ silly sh*t were banished t’ th brig an’ th’ trivialization o’ th’ great monster issues tha’ be threatenin’ t’ sink our ship were t’ come t’ th’ inglorious end it be deservin’.
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A pirate can dream…

Maybe the reason for the popularity of these weed questions is the voter is too zoned out to realize he/she has already clicked on the checkbox.

I find it quite disingenuous that only yesterday you accused the president of being deceptive with his changing definitions of the term recovery, yet you claim innocent to charges that you are using terms like minions without meaning anything derogatory. As a wordsmith you of all people should know the consequences of using words that hurt. And rather than taking a flippant tone by insinuating that the term minion is interchangeable with the masses, you ought to man-up and take responsibility for your error and move on. Now that would be following the Obama doctrine.

At some point we’re going to have to be realistic and admit that the war on drugs has been a dismal failure. Building more prisons to house casual marijuana users makes little sense from either an economic or a moral standpoint. People inclined to smoke aren’t deterred just because it’s illegal anymore than someone with a lead foot is going to stick to the speed limit on a deserted highway. Putting a productive taxpaying user into prison and costing the taxpayers tens of thousands a year to house each of them every year gives new meaning to the term counterproductive. I wonder how many people with high blood pressure or trouble sleeping would turn to pot rather than traditional prescribed medicines? It would help out poor people. Putting a seed in a container and then adding water could svaes them thousands of dollars a year. They could spend the money they save on crazy things like food, utilities and clothing. They might even think that teevee was worth watching again. Advertisers would love that.

My numbers are truncated too.

You’ve probably looked up a definition by now, but the only good thing about being someone’s minion is being of noble rank. Citizens voicing their opinions online are not minions. David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel might be called Obama’s minions, but my understanding is that the connotation would be ironic, if not downright snarky.
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(Wikipedia) Minion is a term for favorites or protégés, especially those of a monarch or prince at a royal court. Unlike a henchman or lackey, although of subordinate rank to his patron a minion is likely to be of noble birth or to be raised to the nobility, and is more of a companion and confidant to him than a servant or bodyguard.
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I vote for marijuana being in the same class as alcohol.

MS has yet to accuse any of you of being morons, dumb*sses, blowhards, tools, cretins, *ssholes, or other such terms that have been deployed by posters here. It’s fair to cut him some slack for the term “minions.”

And yes, sacredh, legalizing pot would probably increase expenditures on food. Buy stock in Krispy Kreme (KKD) asap.

I wonder how Bill Mahr would vote?

Sacred: “I wonder how many people with high blood pressure or trouble sleeping would turn to pot rather than traditional prescribed medicines?
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Ah, now we’re getting somewhere…Big Pharma throws millions upon millions at congress to avoid finding out what that number would be.

On reflection, I have never understood why pot is illegal, but you can buy dozens of Krispy Kreme donuts for personal use.

joyomama: How many people can put a seed into the ground? How many people can make Jack Daniels? If pot is ever made legal, the alcohol industry is going to take a hit. Would you rather spend 50 cents on a pack of papers or $25 on a fifth? Think “no hangover” too. No worshipping at the throne of the Porcelin God either.

apples and oranges, sacredh.

No real argument on apples and oranges, but many would prefer to grow their own apples rather than buy oranges.

One other thing that I have thought but NEVER said to my son…I have discussed drug use many times with him and keep reminding him that using marijuana or any other illegal substance(and getting caught) could end his career before it even gets started…but just one time before I die I would love to sit down with him and listen to Sgt. Pepper or The Dark Side of the Moon while burning one. If it isn’t legalized though, it just won’t happen.

Lettuce is easy and cheap to grow, even in containers on a window sill. Yet people pay many times the price of seeds for plastic bags of salad mix, organic lettuce at Whole Foods or just fresh greens at the local farmers market. Not everyone will grow their own grass, either.
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sacredh, I have similar dreams, involving “Fantasia”, Mahler and Ravi Shankar.

Fantasia is also my all time favorite animated movie. If you have never had a chance to see it, get Allegro Non Troppo. It’s considered to be the Italian Fantasia. Not as good as Fantasia, but then again, what else is?

I’m still waiting for that clarification…

Allegro Non Troppo was ok, not amazing. Try “The Snowman” sometime.

Marijuana should be legalized. Pot is much safer than alcohol. How many people have you heard of that have been in an accident or hit someone while driving a car stoned? I have personally never heard of it. Although, people who are caught with a small amount of marijuana are taken away to jail. For what? Where is the victim?
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Also, it is unconstitutional that in some places in the country, you can grow pot and not get in trouble (California, Colorado), and in others you could be sentenced to years in jail. This is ridiculous. Seriously, it’s a weed; the US government needs to legalize it.

And right now we have to import hemp for textile uses from other countries, just when the demand for it is increasing. (No, you cannot get high smoking hemp jeans. But they are a better choice for “green” fashion than cotton.)

Stuart — MS is busy right now:
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michaelscherer Not exactly tough questions. I drift over to the drunk gorilla pictures. http://bit.ly/rfLO0 5 minutes ago from web

Sacred, first of all sorry to keep resoponding to your posts :p
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But I agree with Jo, I don’t think alchohol will take a hit for the simple fact that anyone who wants weed now can get it. That’s one of the misconceptions that opponents often point to. Weed consumption won’t drastically increase because it’s available already, the only difference is that the Gov would get the money instead of the cartels.

Obviously the Obama Admin isn’t going %100 with the ‘we will be guided by facts and science’ thing they talked about. There are few, if any, facts that support the continued prohibition of MJ. Money saved, tax receipts and jobs created make it a no brainer. The real reason he won’t do it has nothing to do w/ politics…it’s all about job security in law enforcement and in the prison industry. Both of these things require a large enough criminal class to feed the monster. We’ve militarized our police forces and they’re self aware now and making moves to ensure their survival. Despite AG Holder’s pledge to stop federal prosecution of medical MJ, the DEA has other ideas:
http://www.kron4.com/News/ArticleView/tabid/298/smid/1126/ArticleID/872/reftab/36/t/DEA-Raids-SF-Pot-Club/Default.aspx
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Did you know that MJ has been shown to not only NOT cause lung cancer, it seems to prevent it!

sh!t, the links:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html
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http://esciencenews.com/sources/science.blog/2009/02/08/marijuana.ingredient.cuts.lung.cancer.growth.spread

somepeoplelikeit: Thanks for respondinding to my posts. I’m as much an “attention whore” as anyone else. It’s been so long since I’ve indulged (decades) that I’m probably not the best source at guessing what people who still indulge would do. I’m still not sure how much of a difference there is between cartels and the government though.

cincinnatus: Does that mean that if you mix pot with tobacco that they would cancel each other out cancerwise? I see all kinds of advertising possibilities. Smoke the Kool-Aid?

Sacred:
The difference is with cartels you normally get your money’s worth.

They’re also organized too.

If you legalized weed talk about having a boom in “home based businesses” Hell we could go back to having one major bread winner in a household while the other stays home and tends the crop. Imagine being able to order some purple haze on the internet and getting that ish Fed Ex the next day. Not saying I smoke or anything….
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lol

“Does that mean that if you mix pot with tobacco that they would cancel each other out cancerwise? ”
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sacredh, I know you asked in jest, but some preliminary studies suggest just that, THC seems to block cancer receptor cells in the lungs.

More research on MJ and lung cancer:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417193338.htm
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Oh, and these are the scumbags the War on Drugs provide jobs for:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4017382

cincinnatus: The next time the Surgeon General offers a “blunt” cancer warning, I’m going to have a serious case of the giggles. The warnings on a pack of joints should be interesting. The Surgeon General asks you to smoke responsibly. Fire one up after every tobacco use. Please do NOT use scissors to open the Oreos. This has been a public service announcement. We would also like to warn the public that Roach Motels are not ashtrays. They have something to do with insects. Do not smoke insects.