Ron Paul and Marijuana

[trout007]

I use 3 arguments.

#1 - Ask if they ever heard of Al Capone the gangster. I'm sure they will. Ask why was he so famous? The answer is becuase of the ruthlessness of the gang fighting over turf to sell booze. Next ask how much fighting do you have between two local liquor stores over turf? Tell them that is why there is so much violence in this country. Making drugs illegal only divertys a huge amount of money into these gangs. Get rid of the drug laws and the gangs go broke.

#2 Terrorism- Tell them that Al Quida gets a good amount of funding from growing Herion. If they want to help bankrupt Al Quida you could make Heroin legal. The price would drop and cut off their funds.

#3 Prisons - Tell them prisons are so full of non-violent drug users put there by mandatory drugs sentances that there is no room for the violent people we really need off the street.

 

[steph3n]

Many people I talk to about Ron are very receptive, until I get to his stance on the "War on Drugs". Several people have accused me of being a pot smoker myself (I'm not), and others are repulsed at the idea of drugs being legal. I find myself unable to omit this part since it's an important issue that I'm passionate about. How should I effectively sell this delicate subject?

It is a states rights issue just like Alcohol, even cities in Texas can chose to sell or not.

 

[trout007]

nikolai,

I know in my high school it was easier to get weed then alcohol. If you make any of those hard drugs legal most likely they would be sold similar to alcohol at a special store where you need to show ID. You can have strong laws against selling to minors. Since they will be real buisnesses they would have a lot to lose by violating those laws.

 

[alienpyro]

bump

 

[phree]

People that are addicted to drugs like this only "steal tvs" (as it was worded earlier in this thread) once they have expended or been denied the resources and support of those closest to them.

The thing that scares me the most is that experimentation with drugs like this that are immediately addictive will be much more likely if they are legal. It's as if the government is saying they are ok. A parent can experiment with marijuana or have a drink or two every once in a while, but experimenting with powerful drugs like this will have undeniable consequences for the future of their children. And it will be a pattern that propagates down through the generations.

I think that maybe there is one addiction that you are discounting, the addiction to normalcy. The vast majority of people would never give up their stable jobs or their families to wander the streets as drug addicts. It's very true that pot is not heroine, and that is another reason that heroine and other powerful drugs might not be a huge problem. Most people can drink or smoke a little and still function fairly easily. With more powerful drugs a person has to at some point make a choice to leave their normal life behind in favor of the drug, and again, most people won't give up their money, family, social standing, etc. for a life of getting high.


Something else to consider is that just the fact that something is illegal can create a lot of curiosity in people. It may be the case that the best way to influence young people to do hard drugs is to insist they do them, hypothetically of course.

 

[Greenskin]

People on Heroin typically don't steal TVs. I'm willing to bet more sober people commit crimes than people on drugs.

If i smoke crack in my room, i don't see how I'm infringing on your rights.

 

[KMA-NWO]

People that are addicted to drugs like this only "steal tvs" (as it was worded earlier in this thread) once they have expended or been denied the resources and support of those closest to them.

The thing that scares me the most is that experimentation with drugs like this that are immediately addictive will be much more likely if they are legal. It's as if the government is saying they are ok. A parent can experiment with marijuana or have a drink or two every once in a while, but experimenting with powerful drugs like this will have undeniable consequences for the future of their children. And it will be a pattern that propagates down through the generations.

You drink Coke (NOT DIET) or any other sodas (NOT DIET)? Do you enjoy candy and sweets?

Did you know that sucrose/glucose/fructose is far more addicting than cocaine?

Link: http://www.slashfood.com/2007/08/27/sugar-found-to-be-more-addictive-than-cocaine/

Source:
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698

Maybe we should outlaw sugar. It is very addicting and is a major cause of a national health epidemic.

TRADE SUGAR FOR COCAINE(/sarcasm, but norly, i want BOTH legal)!

 

[Revolution9]

Yes, but what if a bale of marijuana fell on you?

Cool.. Where do I sign up? The runway at Menas Arkansas or has it moved?

best
Randy

 

[Revolution9]

People on Heroin typically don't steal TVs. I'm willing to bet more sober people commit crimes than people on drugs.

If i smoke crack in my room, i don't see how I'm infringing on your rights.

Correct on the heroin. As soon as they start hatching a plan they go into nodland and dream.

On the crack..if you stay in your room chances are you won't infringe on anybody's rights.. Coming out of your room the chances are pretty large, even just merely as a roving bundle of psychotic impulses.

HTH
Randy

 

[nikolai]

You drink Coke (NOT DIET) or any other sodas (NOT DIET)? Do you enjoy candy and sweets?

Did you know that sucrose/glucose/fructose is far more addicting than cocaine?

Link: http://www.slashfood.com/2007/08/27/sugar-found-to-be-more-addictive-than-cocaine/

Source:
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698

Maybe we should outlaw sugar. It is very addicting and is a major cause of a national health epidemic.

TRADE SUGAR FOR COCAINE(/sarcasm, but norly, i want BOTH legal)!

Umm doesnt your body actually need sucrose to produce energy and thus live?
Are you seriously comparing sugar to crack? I don't of anyone who's life was destroyed because they experimented with Sweet Tarts.

Yes I know high frustose corn syrup in soda is bad for you. In fact worse than pure cane sugar, which actually tastes better.

 

[Revolution9]

Just like people grow their own tobacco? Heck I dont know anyone that rolls their own. People only grow their own marijuana cause they can't buy it prepackaged in a store.

About 1/4th of the people around here roll American Spirit additive free tobacco. I won't smoke any tailor mades. i can taste the formaldehyde. I would not smoke prepacked joints either. The potency would be off as it is a volatile essence and merely crushing it for processing at the factory would start to kill its subtleties.

Best
randy

 

[Greenskin]

? I don't of anyone who's life was destroyed because they experimented with Sweet Tarts.

Ever heard of dieabetis(sp?)?

 

[KMA-NWO]

Umm doesnt your body actually need sucrose to produce energy and thus live?
Are you seriously comparing sugar to crack? I don't of anyone who's life was destroyed because they experimented with Sweet Tarts.

Yes I know high frustose corn syrup in soda is bad for you. In fact worse than pure cane sugar, which actually tastes better.

Your body can technically survive on fatty and protein foods (look up Ketosis)

 

[nikolai]

People on Heroin typically don't steal TVs. I'm willing to bet more sober people commit crimes than people on drugs.

If i smoke crack in my room, i don't see how I'm infringing on your rights.

Of course you don't because you are smoking crack in your room. And you can't hold down a job to pay taxes and contribute to society.

I'm willing to bet that the type of people that steal TV's do it because they didn't have an upbringing that taught them social values or that put a strong focus on a good education. I wonder why their parents didn't teach them these things?

And for the people that are addicted to serious drugs, what company is going to employ them? If they can't hold down a job, where do they get the money to pay for their addiction? Legal or not?

 

[nikolai]

About 1/4th of the people around here roll American Spirit additive free tobacco. I won't smoke any tailor mades. i can taste the formaldehyde. I would not smoke prepacked joints either. The potency would be off as it is a volatile essence and merely crushing it for processing at the factory would start to kill its subtleties.

Best
randy

I am sure that you are the exception to the rule. I don't think anything but a small fraction of Americans follow your example.

 

[phree]

Correct on the heroin. As soon as they start hatching a plan they go into nodland and dream.

On the crack..if you stay in your room chances are you won't infringe on anybody's rights.. Coming out of your room the chances are pretty large, even just merely as a roving bundle of psychotic impulses.

HTH
Randy

When I smoke crack I'm afraid to leave the house.

 

[KMA-NWO]

Of course you don't because you are smoking crack in your room. And you can't hold down a job to pay taxes and contribute to society.

I'm willing to bet that the type of people that steal TV's do it because they didn't have an upbringing that taught them social values or that put a strong focus on a good education. I wonder why their parents didn't teach them these things?

And for the people that are addicted to serious drugs, what company is going to employ them? If they can't hold down a job, where do they get the money to pay for their addiction? Legal or not?

One. That assumes that doing crack once in a while prevents you from 'holding down a job', 'paying taxes', and 'contributing to society'. They are NOT mutually exclusive (it's NOT an XOR situation, if you understand logic gates better)

Two. One doesn't HAVE to 'contribute to society'. If you want to be a hermit on the mountain, enjoy all the substances you want, never pay taxes, and generally live on your own away from 'society', you'd be exercising your Liberty.

Prejudice doesn't have to be against a race or religion...

 

[nikolai]

EDIT: I'm retracting this statement because it's inaccurate. But I still want to emphasize that I don't think that unique situations in ideal conditions are a valid argument, especially when talking about the public.

 

[phree]

About 1/4th of the people around here roll American Spirit additive free tobacco. I won't smoke any tailor mades. i can taste the formaldehyde. I would not smoke prepacked joints either. The potency would be off as it is a volatile essence and merely crushing it for processing at the factory would start to kill its subtleties.

Best
randy

I quit smoking when Three Castles stopped exporting to the US. Ah, such sweet beautiful blond shreds they are.

 

[nikolai]

One. That assumes that doing crack once in a while prevents you from 'holding down a job', 'paying taxes', and 'contributing to society'. They are NOT mutually exclusive (it's NOT an XOR situation, if you understand logic gates better)

Two. One doesn't HAVE to 'contribute to society'. If you want to be a hermit on the mountain, enjoy all the substances you want, never pay taxes, and generally live on your own away from 'society', you'd be exercising your Liberty.

Prejudice doesn't have to be against a race or religion...

On your first point, we don't agree on the mutual exclusivity. No amount of argument will change that.

I agree with you on the second point, but I think you are creating an ideal situation that the vast majority of people will not abide to. I believe that people will not choose to exercise that liberty. They will either contribute to society or leach off of it.