Presidential Candidate sez: Legalize Pot

southsiderosie

Wow, maybe there are sane Republicans.

Hitting the Cartels where it hurts

Imagine you are a drug lord in Mexico, making unfathomable profits sending your illegal product to the United States. What is the headline you fear the most? “U.S. to build bigger fence”? “U.S. to send troops to the border”? “U.S. to deploy tanks in El Paso”? No. None of those would give you much pause. They would simply raise the level of difficulty and perhaps cause you to escalate the violence that already has turned the border region into a war zone. But would they stop you or ultimately hurt your bottom line? Probably not.

But what if that drug lord opened his newspaper and read this: “U.S. to legalize and regulate marijuana”? That would ruin his day, and ruin it in a way that could not be fixed with more and bigger guns, higher prices or more murder.

<snip>

Border violence is a prohibition problem. Just as we did for Al Capone and his murderous colleagues 90 years ago, our drug laws have created the battlefield on which tens of thousands are dying. By doggedly hanging onto marijuana laws that make criminals out of our children while our leaders proudly consume wine at state dinners, we have created an illegal marketplace with such mind-boggling profits that no enforcement measures will ever overcome the motivation, resources and determination of the cartels.

There are ample reasons why millions of Americans, the Global Commission on Drug Policy and, just recently, former Mexican President Vincente Fox are calling for legalization of marijuana as an alternative to the failed and ridiculously costly “war on drugs.” Twenty-eight thousand deaths along the border are certainly among those reasons.

Will legalizing marijuana put the criminal cartels out of business? No. But it will immediately deny them their largest profit center and dramatically reduce not only the role of the United States in their business plans, but also the motivation for waging war along our southern border.

Our federal government has spent 40 years and a trillion dollars on a failed war on drugs. The real and societal costs of treating drug abuse as a crime problem rather than what it is - a health problem - are inestimable. Add to that reality the tragedy our laws are fueling along the border, and it clearly is time to end this prohibition, just as we ended the last one.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is a Republican candidate for president.

Not only would this be a more sane, fiscally responsible policy, the tax revenue could help with the budget shortfall and Dutch-style 'coffeeshops' could boost tourism. Unfortunately I don't think this guy is enough of a Bible-thumper or corporate whore to actually win.

maudgonner

Ah darn it...I saw the thread title and I thought Michael D. had come out with something newsworthy :mad:

Temptamperu

Rabble rabble drugs are bad... now excuse me while i crack open this bottle of wine and have a ciggerette. :rolleyes:

antodeco

Hahahaha!!! Gay Johnson

120_Minutes

Even if by some stroke of luck he did win, and wanted to follow up on it, he'd have to fight the FBI, DEA, tobacco industry, alcohol and pharmacutical industry to name but a few.

There are too many vested interests in keeping weed illegal, too many stand to lose too much

Sadly, an uphill battle.

teol

Coke and Hookers in the Áras with Uncle Gaybo

Brennaldo II

Drugs are bad, m'kay

Fago!

Sez?

/shudder

southsiderosie

antodeco wrote: »

Hahahaha!!! Gay Johnson

Gary Johnson?

Chuck Stone

They need to get some momentum behind turning around the prohibition farce.

Mass disobedience or something.

southsiderosie

Chuck Stone wrote: »

They need to get some momentum behind turning around the prohibition farce.

Mass disobedience or something.

If middle class kids were incarcerated at the same rates for using pot as poor kids are for selling it, it would become legal within a month.

Alopex

hmmm how many liberal votes would this take from obama?

southsiderosie

Alopex wrote: »

hmmm how many liberal votes would this take from obama?

If he actually got the nomination (which he won't) and had a decent running mate, he would certainly take most, if not all of Obama's independent voter base.

RichieC

John Q tax payer will lose it over this.

(IBTF)