#2 2010-10-01 23:53:44
Arnold is trying to defuse support for Prop 19. There are many people who are skeptical about the revenues legal pot will supposedly bring in, but they will vote for legal pot because they realize that their lives could have been ruined if they had been caught during the brief period in their teens when they smoked the stuff. Other people have been through a lot of trouble and expense, saving their children who were unlucky enough to be caught with a small amount from suffering the lifelong stigma of being felony pot criminals. Arnold is hoping Prop 19 will go down because people will get the erroneous idea that pot laws are no longer more dangerous than pot smoking.
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#3 2010-10-02 11:09:36
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#5 2010-10-03 13:52:33
I think that Aaaahnold realizes two things:
1) The prosecution of every possession charge probably costs the state between $5000 and $10,000. For which they HOPE to get $100. In a state that has no money and arrests 100,000 pot smokers a year, that's something to think about.
2) Even though pot isn't taxed per-se in California, it is a product that is responsible for tens of thousands of people's livings, and those people spend their profits on all kinds of legal stuff, stimulating the economy much better than any $300 "advance" on your taxes.
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#7 2010-10-04 08:28:14
I forgot one point:
3) Being arrested with a "prison" record (even if no time is ever served) is detrimental to every politicians career. Why take the chance?
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#8 2010-10-04 12:24:14
Up here in far-northern California it is actually dangerous to hike around in the forests this time of year. There are swarms of Mexican nationals out there protecting huge pot plantations. The narcs can't keep up. As with all things political, just follow the money. Those in favor of Prop 19 want to tax the users, stop the violence at the border, and they want their forests back. Those against, law enforcement and local growers, see their gravy train being derailed.
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#9 2010-10-04 12:41:20
phreddy wrote:
Up here in far-northern California it is actually dangerous to hike around in the forests this time of year. There are swarms of Mexican nationals out there protecting huge pot plantations. The narcs can't keep up. As with all things political, just follow the money. Those in favor of Prop 19 want to tax the users, stop the violence at the border, and they want their forests back. Those against, law enforcement and local growers, see their gravy train being derailed.
In agreement on that....!
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#10 2010-10-04 19:03:36
One little nitpick Goob.... That 'or' should be an 'and': ...spiral down into a black hole from which there is no return, AND you could just end up.......
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#11 2010-10-05 03:53:55
phreddy wrote:
Those in favor of Prop 19 want to tax the users, stop the violence at the border, and they want their forests back. Those against, law enforcement and local growers, see their gravy train being derailed.
People I thought were cool are voting 'no.' Nothing I say changes their minds.
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