Democrats Want To Energize The Base In 2010? Legalize Pot

[no limit]

One of the biggest problems the democrats will have in 2010 is that their base simply doesn't care. Meanwhile the teabaggers are as pissed off as ever. So why don't the democrats come out early next year with a bill to legalize pot? What better way to get the young people that elected Obama off their ass and in to the polls? Not to mention the majority of Americans support this.

Just an edit after a few minutes of this thread being up: I think some of you guys really underestimate pot heads. What would happen is the republicans would come out strongly against this, same way they did against healthcare. If the legalize pot bill was introduced early next year the debate would drag on all year in to the elections. If people that support legalization believed there was a real chance to make a difference at the polls they would take an hour or 2 out of their day to go and vote. Trust me, I've been around plenty of pot heads (then again Im here posting on DU, thats a given).

And I know, I'm dreaming. But I just think it would be a good idea.

[Uncle Joe]

1. I believe it would be good policy to do so, not just good politics.

Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, no limit.

[NJmaverick]

2. Usually energize and pot don't end up in the same sentence

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

3. WIN for the most unintentionally funny post title ever. n/t

[mdmc]

4. no

but I will k/r for the leaf..

[Ian David]

5. They'll all be eating Oreos on their sofas watching the election. n/t

[earthside]

9. 'The Simpsons'

That's basically what happened in the medical marijuana episode ... the pot referendum failed because, well, they 'forgot' to vote.

[rd_kent]

41. I'm sure you are just making a joke

but if you really feel that way, then you do NOT understand the issue.

[Ian David]

43. I thought I understood the issue, but I forgot to write down my thoughts before I lost my buzz.

Now it's gone.

[rd_kent]

45. Sorry, bud.

Here, share some of mine.....


:smoke:

[WCGreen]

6. But they need the base to go the polls, not just think about it

and then stoke up a huge doober and then get caught up in a Robot Chicken Marathon on Toon and then remember ah, there was something and then Todd yells out Za and so the collection for a pizza is made and then there is a serious debate that breaks out about is sausage really a meat or just a lot of goopy filler and then they discuss between deep dish and pan pizza and holly smokes, it is 9:00 and the poll has closed and Brendan smacks his head and says, "Dudes, we forgot to vote..."

[WhiteTara]

7. great idea.

I just found out that one ounce of home grown in my state is $350! Is that nuts?

[Leftist Agitator]

13. That's the going rate for the good stuff nationwide.

In CA or the Pacific NW, you can get an ounce of high-quality pot for around $300, but that's as cheap as you're going to find it if you're only buying one ounce at a time.

[WhiteTara]

53. I've found no wholesalers here

seems quarters refer to oz...not lb. Yikes!

[goldcanyonaz]

8. Our country isn't that advanced.

[Flaneur]

37. Recent polls are showing majority support nationwide.

For the first time ever.

[name not needed]

44. There was also majority support for a public option, and look where that got us.

[elocs]

10. With legal pot who would care if they are energinzed or not?

Of course we know that all DUers would be using pot for it's medicinal or health purposes and not simply to get high. :bounce:

[maxsolomon]

11. THE SENATE

given the sorry display we've just witnessed over the last 9 months, we're generations away from legalization. no current DINO, not to mention GOP neandertal, is going to risk his office over some potheads, tax or no tax. at base, this is a puritan country. it's a fucking miracle that alcohol was re-legalized, and that was probably only due to the depression.

decriminalization by the states with Federal indifference to intrastate commerce in marijuana is much more realistic, but legalized? let's see them reverse the patriot act, and then maybe i'll believe it's possible.

[no limit]

12. That's fair enough, but how about just legalizing medical marijuana

lets take what California has and expend it to the national level.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. And there will be a proposition on the ballot in CA...

To legalize marijuana, next year.

As California goes, so goes the nation!

We can hope, indeed.

K&R for your excellent thread...

[maxsolomon]

17. what will be the ramifications of passage?

California will have legalized a Schedule 1 Narcotic that the DEA is required to oppress the production and distribution of. It will go to the Supremes before the Feds will quit.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. You could be right...

I don't know.

Jerry Brown will be our Governor by then, and hopefully he will be on board with this.

[maxsolomon]

21. California is going to have to fight hard

in the courts. other states might help, but congress won't help. the president won't help. the senate sure as hell won't help. it's POSSIBLE that the SCOTUS could overturn the federal laws, but there will be slippery-slope hysteria rampant across the nation.

and it will be the i-was-a-pothead-and-now-i-can't-handle-it-so-you-can't-either or what-about-the-children types arguing against legalization the most. the arguments will be headache-inducing.

[Fly by night]

24. There is an easier (and less politically risky) way to accomplish decrim/legalization.

Over the past 20 years, there have been two in-depth assessments of the status quo within the DEA itself. In the first review (which lasted over two years), DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis Young recommended that marijuana be removed from Schedule 1 and placed in a more appropriate category (I believe Young recommended 3 -- I would say 3 or 4). Despite this two year review and Judge Young's strong written opinion, the DEA administrator rejected his recommendation.

More recently, another DEA Administrative Law Judge (Mary Ellen Bittner) conducted a thorough review of a petition from Professor Lyle Craker (U. Massachusetts) to allow him to grow research-grade cannabis and study its properties in a variety of ways. This petition, which would have broken the 40 year NIDA monopoly on conducting (sic) cannabis research, was supported by Judge Bittner, but again was overruled by the DEA administrator for the most bogus of reasons.

If AG Holder stated that, upon further review, the recommendations of these two DEA administrative law judges were accepted -- the entire ballgame would change and it would change without the need to involve Congress or the Supreme Court. These reversals would get the brown-shirted "drug worriers" out of the land piracy and shuttle-'em-off-to-the-prison-farm businesses. It would also show respect for the intelligence and hard work of those two DEA ALJs. It would also sublimate social control for science, common sense and compassion. Many of us in the medical cannabis arena believe this would be the fastest way to accomplish much-needed reforms.

One last point: the "pot smokers are too lazy to show up to vote" bullshit meme is getting real old. Where I live, the hardest working and most honorable people I know wake and bake. I'd also be happy to send you my 14 page resume if you'd like, not a single line of which was achieved without detectable traces of THC in my system. BTW, that includes completing two Master's degrees (MA- U. Texas, MPH- U. California), each in nine months flat, while working three jobs to pay my way.

Maybe if I hadn't been using cannabis, I could have completed them faster (but I seriously doubt it).

[maxsolomon]

27. i don't think your last point was directed at my posts

because i hella vote :smoke:

& resumes should be 1 page! CV's can run on a bit...

[Fly by night]

28. Yes, I was responding to your view of how difficult, if not impossible, ...

... it will be to enact reforms around this issue. My post suggested an easier way to do that.

I have no idea what "I hella vote" means.

Resumes are synonymous with curriculum vitae. My biographic sketch is one page, and I'm happy to send that along also.

[maxsolomon]

36. it means i vote @ every opportunity

hella means 'a lot'.

r.e. the opportunities to challenge schedule 1 status - has the bush functionary (no doubt) who rejected the recommendation been replaced?

[Fly by night]

56. No, the Bush appointee at DEA remains. This might be a good way ...

... to get her to go along with the new administration's attitude toward mmj or to get her to move on out the door.

IMHO, the Obama administration has not moved nearly fast enough to replace the Bushies. Not sure what they're waiting for.

[BbeltAtheist]

65. Exactly

I'm tired of this meme too.

[krabigirl]

32. the arguments will fail

[PassingFair]

42. They will use the "what about the children"...

it's what they use around here whenever I bring it up with
whatever law-enforcement guy, sheriff or whatnot that comes
to speak to our Democratic Club.

Honestly, IRL, I don't know ANYONE who is NOT in support
of legalization and/or decriminalization who is NOT a
member of law enforcement or a lawyer.

And most lawyers I know say it should be legal, too.

[tridim]

22. Sending it to the SC might be a good thing.

"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and all that.

And yes, I know that's from the Declaration.

[Flaneur]

38. Or, Obama could do what he did with medical marijuana.

Which, as far as the DEA is concerned, is just a Schedule I drug.

He said as long as people were not violating state law, he wouldn't send the feds after them.

[tridim]

20. The states need to lead on this. CA should be a good catalyst.

Just wait until the tax revenues start rolling in!

I've been legal for awhile and it's really no big deal. Society will adapt if it becomes fully legal.

[Hippo_Tron]

52. We basically have

Obama has by executive order ended federal law enforcement tampering with medical marijuana. But if states still want it to be illegal that is their right under the constitution to do so. The federal government can't force them to legalize it.

[JVS]

15. HELL YEAH!!!!!

[TheCowsCameHome]

16. Make it mandatory. No one will give a ^%$* about what happens.

[RainDog]

19. they would pull some libertarians with a move like that. but they'd have to decrim. not legalize

because legalization would totally freak out the religious right.

maybe CA will lead the way with legalization on the ballot. it would certainly help bring out voters in midterm elections who might sit out otherwise.

but honestly, I think that decrim/legalization will be done at the state level because no national pol is willing to put his ass on the line, even if it makes sense.

[Jackpine Radical]

23. That would energize the base, alright.

The only problem is half of them would get lost or hopelessly distracted on the way to the polling booth.

"Could you deliver 4 pizzas with everything and 10 absentee ballots?"

[Flaneur]

39. Thanks for another stupid stoner stereotype post.

When are you people going to graduate from junior high school?

[Jackpine Radical]

61. I miss OldLeftyLawyer.

We used to sorta do Cheech & Chong routines on DU threads.

And I smoked my share of illegal stuff back in the day. Sometimes for recreation & sometimes for instrumental reasons. I found that a light buzz would help me visualize things like statistical equations, and was very useful when writing.

[phatkatt]

25. This would energize the wrong base.

The churches would go hog wild with this one and the pubes would make massive gains. It is easy to energize people whose minds you control.

[krabigirl]

31. BS...not in California. Even in OC the polls are strongly in favor of legalization.

[Hawkowl]

26. Energized Potheads? An oxymoron?

Just yanking your chains.

[Fly by night]

29. Leave my chain alone! See post #24 above about the "lazy pothead" stereotype.

[krabigirl]

30. Yep!! This will get the people out to vote in CA in 2010..and I don't think Reuke candidates will ro

benefit from these people going to the polls, unless they are libertarians.

[krabigirl]

33. Another thing, some teabaggers are saying that they want their candidates to be pro-pot ro

Scarily enough...

[onenote]

34. I don't think you actually understand who constitutes the "base"

[dysfunctional press]

35. it would certainly be a good way to energize the repug base...

the 'family values' crowd and the corporate-media would have a field day with that.

[ThomWV]

40. Look, lets get real here. Look at the controversy over HCR, and you think pots going to be legalize

Not a snowball's chance in hell.

[JonLP24]

46. Well

I feel there are too many Republicans pro-drug war Democrats for this to happen in the near future. I can't even imagine Obama signing such a law judging by his responses which was him laughing it off and a 'no' then 'next question'.

I do feel the public can get behind such an idea. I live in Maricopa County which is an area that gives the state to Republicans.(Take out Maricopa and Obama may have won Arizona| What I mean is more people I know that use cannabis are actually Republicans. It really blows my mind considering it was the Republicans that gave Arizona some of the most strictest laws in the nation regarding simple possession. I asked one of them why he votes 'R' and his answer was "I don't care if it's illegal because I can get it any time I want."

Knowing that all walks of life and not limited to gender, age, political affiliation, is a reason why I feel the public can get behind the idea. The political leaders we have won't so it doesn't look like legalization will happen soon but it's becoming more of a reality with each passing day.

[Vidar]

47. K&R.

[dave123williams]

48. There's plenty of GOP potheads, actually....it's ironic, but true.

Legalization is a winning issue; as Lenny Bruce famously quipped in the 60's, 'One day weed will be legal, because every single Law student I know smokes it.'

[dysfunctional press]

49. actually- those are called "libertarians".

they have their own party, and everything.

[Fly by night]

57. Actually, there are non-libertarian Rethugs who smoke pot and who support decrim.

I know a number of them, including one on NORML's Board of Directors and several members of my Monday night football watching crowd.

Although it often seems not to be so, Rethugs are wired with an endogenous cannabinoid system just like the rest of us.

They also get cancer.

[roody]

50. This is a great idea, therefore the Democrats will not do it.

[gardenista]

51. Energizer potheads...

They take a toke and they keep on tokin'.

Awwwwwww, shit, I forgot to vote again. Fuck.....

[asdjrocky]

54. I'm a daily, or nearly daily smoker.

I've voted in every single election since I was 18 and I'm now 49. I protest, I march and I've always worked very, very hard. Some of the hardest working and smartest people I know are daily smokers. Where do you think the Internet you're on right now came from?

People that continue the stereotype of pot smokers being stupid, and lazy and forgetful really have no idea what they are talking about.

[gardenista]

59. Actually, I was making fun of myself...

Sorry you're so sensitive about your pot smoking.

[asdjrocky]

60. Looking back, I was being kind of a dick, wasn't I?

Lol, sometimes I do that, and read something a couple of hours later and have to say, what sanctimonious jerk wrote that?

Yeah, harvest time always gets me a bit unnerved, my apologies. And yes, I make fun of myself in the same way all of the time.

You ever make it to my neck of the woods look me up, we'll smoke one and laugh about it.

[Echo In Light]

64. Same here. Amazing how many 'libs' have swallowed RW propaganda re pot

[TiberiusGracchus]

55. We don't need yet any more reasons to lose seats in congress thanks.

[Xicano]

58. End this immoral war on people and freedom.

[BbeltAtheist]

62. "grass"roots push for pot legalization and a rework of drug policy in general

My hope for the obama administration would be that he would eventually push progressive social issues after all of the economic ones had been taken care of. Included in this should be an honest discussion on drug policy in this country - specifically of the hypocrisy of how some drugs are legal/acceptable and others aren't.

For me the marijuana issue is obvious in its comparison to alcohol... the plant has had its reputation tarnished by its association with "hippies" and people who are lazy. The truth is that most people would not even know if someone was a "head" or not. The two people I know that smoke a lot of it are probably the most energetic people I work with. This isn't to say that pot can't relax, just that it isn't as simple as the hollywood version most people know.

So we allow alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and many prescription drugs to be legally used. These are all drugs. Marijuana's impact on the health of its users and others around them is probably dwarfed by all the other legal drugs... but I guess image is everything when it comes to these scary issues.

[B Calm]

63. Good idea, and they'll do it right after they dump NAFTA!

[Wardoc]

66. Fine with me, but it wouldn't overcome the current health care bill fiasco, Afghanistan, etc.