This week finds me in DAR/11550 training. What is that you ask? DAR stands for Drug Abuse Recognition. 11550 is the section under CA’s Health and Safety Code that refers to being under the influence of any controlled substance.
It’s a good class and long overdue.
That’s not the important bit, though. Today, watched the following video and I thought it was freaking hilarious, so I thought I’d share. Please to enjoy.
What do you think about the legalization issue?
Image courtesy of Flickr and ajagendorf25
I never understood how tobacco and alcohol are legal but marijuana isn’t. When my mom came to the US years ago… I was about 3…she had marijuana growing in the fire escape. It was something people from her village (3rd world country) did. They use it for pain since taking some Advil wasn’t an option.
Some people that smoke marijuana acts like the people who are drunk.
I rather deal with someone who is high than someone who is a mean drunk.
Disclaimer: I do not smoke, tobacco or marijuana and rarely drink.
I have never smoked and consume about one alcoholic beverage per year. I drank more when younger, but never ever drove after drinking
I do not understand why marijuana is illegal. As far as I can tell, 99% of the anti-marijuana stuff is about people doing things while under its influence. “But what if my child’s bus driver was smoking dope before he got behind the wheel!”
The same arguments can be made for alcohol, but the marijuana detractors brush that off with, “But alcohol is *legal*!” as if that somehow makes it ok to be out there driving drunk, going to work inebriated, or whatever other illegal or unethical thing people do while under the influence. The newspapers are filled every day with people who abuse alcohol and do horrible things. Besides, under the influence is under the *influence*. I believe you can be arrested for DUI for taking pain medication that you are legally prescribed.
Do I think making marijuana legal will suddenly cause an increase of people doing things under the influence? Unlikely. Marijuana is trivial for people to get or grow themselves. I live a few miles from a place where possession of small (clearly personal use) amounts of pot is a $5 fine and is usually just ignored by the local police. There is no huge increase in pot-related crimes that I’m aware of.
I also think there is a huge income potential for local or state governments here. Taxing marijuana the way tobacco cigarettes are could be a way to, say, better fund our emergency worker systems. Seriously!
I don’t think they can tax marijuana the same way they do tobacco. People can but don’t really grow their own tobacco. I think people would just grow marijuana instead of buying it from the corner store.
No.
1) who legalizes it? The feds never will. California? Federal law trumps state law. End of story.
2) Medical marijuana. Great! I’m all for it. Oh by the way, did anyone see that article today about marijuana in pill and spray forms that a REAL pharmacist can sell? THAT is what I support. Buh-bye marijuana dispensaries.
3) The Netherlands. really??? I mean really. I still see people going on and on about how great those cannabis coffee houses are and how it is legal there. They are too busy getting’ stoned to notice that the Netherlands is reversing direction on their laws, making cannabis coffee houses off limits to foreigners. Why? Oh I dunno, maybe it is the rampant drug problem, e. g. cocaine and heroin and so on, that their cannabis houses invited. Having been there myself 10 years ago, I saw more drug deals and got harassed by more druggie bums there than in any other major city BY FAR! and I have been to a lot of them. In fact, drug deals – I can’t count on one hand how many I saw in the rest of Europe. beggars – only the poorest and genuinely in need (elderly and handicapped) asked me for money elsewhere. In Amsterdam, a twenty something asked me for twenty! euros in 4 different languages?!?!?! “Druggie, since you can speak 4 languages and walk, get a fuggin’ job and get outta my face, following me for 3 whole blocks!!!!” So that is what you want your neighborhood to turn into?? NICE!!!
4) The side effects. Everyone seems to forget about those. Oh yeah. That’s one reason to smoke … to forget … which you’ll start doing even if you don’t mean to.
You and I can officially be friends.
When I see a raging drunk I always wish they had a little bud to mellow them out. If we must have mindaltering substances around, weed is my drug of choice.
I’m for legalization. I’ve never know anyone to smoke a j and get all belligerent and douchey. It’s no different from the parents who get their kids on tranquilizers from the age of seven. Gateway drug my ass. If someone is gonna do drugs, they are gonna do drugs.