Legalize that Obnoxious Weed? - Page 3

**9876543210** · February 9th, 2014, 08:00 PM

OK, getting back on track a bit here, it is probably a good idea to start with some history of marijuana itself and its legal history.

Found this article which seems to have a pretty good description of the legal history:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_..._United_States

Just do be aware that we aren't familiar with the author so we don't know his/her biases. I did find one paragraph problematic:

Quote:

One source of tensions in the western and southwestern states was the influx of Mexicans to the US. Many Mexicans also smoked marijuana to relax after working in the fields.[17] Later in the 1920s, negative tensions grew between the small farms and the large farms that used cheaper Mexican labor. Shortly afterwards, the Great Depression came which increased tensions as jobs and resources became more scarce. Because of that, the passage of the initial laws is often described as a product of racism, yet use of hashish by near eastern immigrants were also cited, as well as the misuse of pharmaceutical hemp, and the laws conformed with other legislation that was being passed around the country. Mexico itself had passed prohibition in 1925, following the International Opium Convention (see below)

I seem to remember there was a lot of racism involved in the original banning of marijuana but, at the moment, can't prove it.

Here's a site which has an obvious bias but still has an interesting take on the history of cannabis:

http://brainz.org/420-milestones-history-marijuana/

Haven't gone through this yet but it looks quite interesting. All kinds of links to marijuana's history:

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/...ry/history.htm

Probably enough to get people started. If you have some others of interest please let us know.

Next up, I guess, should be the states that have legalized; Washington and Colorado.

**tygrkhat40** · February 9th, 2014, 08:20 PM

Another factor in the criminalization of marijuana and hemp is the fact that newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst owned forests and paper mills to supply his papers and others, and hemp makes better paper than wood pulp with less harmful effects on the environment. Although there is only one or two strains of hemp that contain enough THC to have the desired effects, Hearst demonized marijuana and just had all types of hemp outlawed by his cronies in the California legislature.

And two of the forces against legalization are, as keef pointed out, Big Pharm and many conservative law enforcement organizations. Big Pharm doesn't want anything to cut into their profits and law enforcement officers want something to use against minorities.

**9876543210** · February 9th, 2014, 08:43 PM

tygrkhat40,

Quote:

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

Another factor in the criminalization of marijuana and hemp is the fact that newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst owned forests and paper mills to supply his papers and others, and hemp makes better paper than wood pulp with less harmful effects on the environment. Although there is only one or two strains of hemp that contain enough THC to have the desired effects, Hearst demonized marijuana and just had all types of hemp outlawed by his cronies in the California legislature.

This I've never heard although it doesn't really surprise me. Hearst definitely had a reputation as an s.o.b. You wouldn't have any links to that story would you?

Quote:

And two of the forces against legalization are, as keef pointed out, Big Pharm and many conservative law enforcement organizations. Big Pharm doesn't want anything to cut into their profits and law enforcement officers want something to use against minorities.

Now that I am familiar with. It will be interesting to keep track of those two groups in the near future as both are really threatened by legalization.

Pharma is going to have a really hard time trying to monopolize marijuana. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say they can't. Pot is too easy to grow at home. Are the laws going to try and outlaw this? Stay tuned.

And the cops? Will any cops lose their jobs? And how about the legal system and prisons? If marijuana is legalized will all those people now in prison be released? Will their criminal records be expunged? How many lawyers, judges and prison guards will lose their jobs? And what about the DEA? May sound ridiculous but will they actually shrink? They certainly should.

Lots and lots of consequences here. What happens, if the US totally legalizes pot, to European laws?

**winebeavis** · February 9th, 2014, 09:28 PM

Skunk is a type of strain that runs in the sativa family. There's plenty of high THC cannabis out there that doesn't have any skunk DNA in it. One of the more popular strains of skunk is Super Lemon Haze. It's pretty much a cross between Lemon Skunk (originating out of the U.S.) and Silver Haze coming out of the Netherlands. Greenhouse I believe is the original breeder of this strain. It's sativa dominated plant for sure.

Sensemilla is just a female plant that was never pollenated and thereby seedless. Seeds lower the THC in the flowers. Most growers remove the male plants as soon as they're recognized as males to avoid pollenating.

987654321, There's almost a universal axiom: Stoner don't make very good gardeners. I can't imagine a stoner growing his own product. It takes way too much time, patience, and detail for your average stoner. It's not rocket science by any imagination, but can't be rushed either. I doubt your average recreational user would put the time in to grow for his own use. It's a very inefficient to make just a little bit.

When my father had cancer from 2004 through 2007, I used to grow his plants for him at his house. After he passed, I donated the the equipment and the remainder of the product to a support group. I never sold anything to anybody and the cost of growing, plus equipment, was much cheaper than purchasing it off the street.

I can't picture a scenario when I would ever grow again. If my dad hadn't told me how well it was helping him and how freaking expensive it was, I wouldn't have learned to do it. It was a one off risk I was willing to make for my dad at the time. I was paranoid the whole time I'd get caught. Not a good feeling to have.

Throughout the entire ordeal, I never met a stoner who could grow his own. It's an entire experience I'd rather have avoided.

**bombermouse** · February 9th, 2014, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winebeavis

cheaper than purchasing it off the street.
Throughout the entire ordeal, I never met a stoner who could grow his own. It's an entire experience I'd rather have avoided.

I have known at least ten stoners who grew excellent marijuana.

**AmateurEmale** · February 9th, 2014, 10:02 PM

I admit that I experimented with Mary Jane in the second half of "high" school, and my senior year Sociology project was about ending the War on Drugs, which provoked equally positive and negative responses from other students; the teacher gave me an A+ for my serious presentation and graphic design work.

Hugh Downs once said that "Here we have a plant that grows so easily, it is called 'weed'...", and even though tens of millions of Americans admit to trying it, the War on Drugs rages on and does far more harm than good.

I tend to agree with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, that marijuana should be legal and regulated like beer or wine. Johnson admits that he used medical marijuana for two years to alleviate pain from a paragliding accident, and that he "never exhaled."

The Democratic Party's willingness to go along with Republican drug warriors is one of the reasons why I started voting Libertarian in 1994-95 at the end of high school. Along with the Green and Constitution Parties, the L.P. is one of the very few political parties in America that wants to end the War on Drugs.

Even in the 2000s, Joe Biden's boneheaded remarks that "marijuana is a gateway drug" and that legalization would be bad, shows how far we have to go in convincing people in the two major parties that the War on Drugs must be ended. However, I think that state-level legalization in Washington and Colorado are two steps in the right direction.

yellowbandit · February 9th, 2014, 10:40 PM

Marijuana is only an alleged gateway drug because people have to seek out the criminal element to purchase it from. It's only logical that the element would push their higher margin and more addictive products on to people at the same time. You make weed easily purchasable by the public and they no longer have to be around those people.

It has therapeutic reasons, is safer to use than legal drugs like Alcohol and Tobacco, and is non-addictive.

MDMA also needs to be released from Class-1 banning and be allowed to be prescribed by therapists. It's use in counselling is proven and profound. I've used it several times myself to help out my relationships. It gets you talking and honest.

**9876543210** · February 9th, 2014, 10:50 PM

winebeavis,

Quote:

Originally Posted by winebeavis

Skunk is a type of strain that runs in the sativa family. There's plenty of high THC cannabis out there that doesn't have any skunk DNA in it. One of the more popular strains of skunk is Super Lemon Haze. It's pretty much a cross between Lemon Skunk (originating out of the U.S.) and Silver Haze coming out of the Netherlands. Greenhouse I believe is the original breeder of this strain. It's sativa dominated plant for sure.

So "skunk" is primarily a specifice DNA strain? Are its affects any different than the high quality sensimilla's from years past?

Quote:

987654321, There's almost a universal axiom: Stoner don't make very good gardeners. I can't imagine a stoner growing his own product. It takes way too much time, patience, and detail for your average stoner. It's not rocket science by any imagination, but can't be rushed either. I doubt your average recreational user would put the time in to grow for his own use. It's a very inefficient to make just a little bit.

Well, again, I really have no business starting this thread because all of my info is so old. But, as I remember, the people growing the high quality sensimillas were all stoners. I could be wrong as I didn't know all of them well but those I did know were definitely users. Maybe our definition of stoners is different.

And their stuff was so good that I quickly learned you couldn't actually "try" their product as, from the first toke, you were done. No more ability to judge quality for a few hours. You had to judge it from smell, texture and the quantity and quality of the "beads" on the flowers.

Quote:

When my father had cancer from 2004 through 2007, I used to grow his plants for him at his house. After he passed, I donated the the equipment and the remainder of the product to a support group. I never sold anything to anybody and the cost of growing, plus equipment, was much cheaper than purchasing it off the street.

I can't picture a scenario when I would ever grow again. If my dad hadn't told me how well it was helping him and how freaking expensive it was, I wouldn't have learned to do it. It was a one off risk I was willing to make for my dad at the time. I was paranoid the whole time I'd get caught. Not a good feeling to have.

Sorry to hear about your dad. But you say it helped him? Would you mind elaborating a bit? My primary experience was with an older friend back in the mid 70's who got cancer and was having real problems with the pain medications they were giving him. Its been so long that I don't remember exactly what happened but I just know he was able to keep food down with the marijuana and deal with the nausea which was ever present. So any info you could give would help.

In the end, the marijuana probably didn't help him last much longer (maybe it did) but it did help him to feel a bit better as he was slipping away.

**9876543210** · February 9th, 2014, 10:54 PM

yellowbandit,

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowbandit

MDMA also needs to be released from Class-1 banning and be allowed to be prescribed by therapists. It's use in counselling is proven and profound. I've used it several times myself to help out my relationships. It gets you talking and honest.

MDMA? Haven't heard of it. Could you explain a bit please.

**9876543210** · February 9th, 2014, 11:14 PM

OK, now lets take a look at the new laws themselves. First, anyone with an interest should certainly be aware of these people, NORML:

http://norml.org/

Their page on Colorado's new law:

http://norml.org/laws/item/colorado-penalties

And their Washington state page:

http://norml.org/laws/item/washington-penalties-2

If you go through both lists you'll see they aren't exactly "lenient" but they are a start.

On this page you can find all of the states which have legalized medical marijuana:

http://norml.org/states

If you can't see the difference, look below the map and make sure you check the "medical" box.

February 9th, 2014, 08:20 PM	#22
tygrkhat40 Long Suffering Bills Fan Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: The City of Good Neighbors Posts: 9,669 Thanks: 304,243 Thanked 152,866 Times in 9,629 Posts	Another factor in the criminalization of marijuana and hemp is the fact that newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst owned forests and paper mills to supply his papers and others, and hemp makes better paper than wood pulp with less harmful effects on the environment. Although there is only one or two strains of hemp that contain enough THC to have the desired effects, Hearst demonized marijuana and just had all types of hemp outlawed by his cronies in the California legislature. And two of the forces against legalization are, as keef pointed out, Big Pharm and many conservative law enforcement organizations. Big Pharm doesn't want anything to cut into their profits and law enforcement officers want something to use against minorities. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

February 9th, 2014, 10:02 PM	#26
AmateurEmale Vintage Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: The 513 Posts: 1,825 Thanks: 16,644 Thanked 15,795 Times in 1,755 Posts	High times in "high" school (11th grade) I admit that I experimented with Mary Jane in the second half of "high" school, and my senior year Sociology project was about ending the War on Drugs, which provoked equally positive and negative responses from other students; the teacher gave me an A+ for my serious presentation and graphic design work. Hugh Downs once said that "Here we have a plant that grows so easily, it is called 'weed'...", and even though tens of millions of Americans admit to trying it, the War on Drugs rages on and does far more harm than good. I tend to agree with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, that marijuana should be legal and regulated like beer or wine. Johnson admits that he used medical marijuana for two years to alleviate pain from a paragliding accident, and that he "never exhaled." The Democratic Party's willingness to go along with Republican drug warriors is one of the reasons why I started voting Libertarian in 1994-95 at the end of high school. Along with the Green and Constitution Parties, the L.P. is one of the very few political parties in America that wants to end the War on Drugs. Even in the 2000s, Joe Biden's boneheaded remarks that "marijuana is a gateway drug" and that legalization would be bad, shows how far we have to go in convincing people in the two major parties that the War on Drugs must be ended. However, I think that state-level legalization in Washington and Colorado are two steps in the right direction.

February 9th, 2014, 10:40 PM	#27
yellowbandit Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 94 Thanks: 48 Thanked 929 Times in 93 Posts	Marijuana is only an alleged gateway drug because people have to seek out the criminal element to purchase it from. It's only logical that the element would push their higher margin and more addictive products on to people at the same time. You make weed easily purchasable by the public and they no longer have to be around those people. It has therapeutic reasons, is safer to use than legal drugs like Alcohol and Tobacco, and is non-addictive. MDMA also needs to be released from Class-1 banning and be allowed to be prescribed by therapists. It's use in counselling is proven and profound. I've used it several times myself to help out my relationships. It gets you talking and honest. __________________ Go Toronto FC and the Boys in Blue C H E L S E A To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

February 9th, 2014, 11:14 PM	#30
9876543210 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4,044 Thanks: 24,638 Thanked 34,357 Times in 4,008 Posts	OK, now lets take a look at the new laws themselves. First, anyone with an interest should certainly be aware of these people, NORML: http://norml.org/ Their page on Colorado's new law: http://norml.org/laws/item/colorado-penalties And their Washington state page: http://norml.org/laws/item/washington-penalties-2 If you go through both lists you'll see they aren't exactly "lenient" but they are a start. On this page you can find all of the states which have legalized medical marijuana: http://norml.org/states If you can't see the difference, look below the map and make sure you check the "medical" box.