Marijuana legalization gains momentum in California

California should follow holland in its marijuana policies.

Pressure will go down in South America/Mexico and there will be less Drug cartel turf war caused casualties.

The War on Drugs is 38 years old and has never, ever looked like being won. About time some of the states started doing their own thing if the Federal government doesn't change.

State Government can grow all the pot needed to supply the state and make money instead of allowing criminals to profit.

Change We can believe in -Yes We Can!

Obama and other pot smokers like the Gore family can rejoice -The Liberals have won this one.

Obama and other pot smokers like the Gore family can rejoice -The Liberals have won this one.

Cali Governor Ahnold is both a Repub and a potsmoker.

Under federal law, marijuana is illegal, period.

If this goes through, Washington should cut off all federal funding to California. I don't want my tax dollars being spent supporting a state full of dope fiends.

First California, next JAPAN! :D

RomeoRamenII- A California state full of dope fiends,you are right.

We don't want ,that problem also.

drugs are bad, m'kay

The ObamaNator vs The Governator vs GoreNator : I'll be back!

Arnold could not win + it helps with his pains and helps him mellow out in this time of crisis(s).

It's a harmless plant, not a dangerous drug. Treating users as criminals is a violation of human rights.

It's a harmless plant, not a dangerous drug.

I'm sure every forty-year-old pothead living in their parents' basement would agree.

marijuana makes you fat and lazy and the unfiltered tar will give you cancer. The THC is a poison which your body stores in the fat to protect the liver but when you go to work the next day and burn fat the poison then gets into your blood stream again making you a lazy, good for nothing, employee and a danger to others if you operate a vehicle or machinery. As if alcohol and tobacco smoking don't cause enough problems already, they have to legalize another menace.

I am all fall this. In fact, I would prefer they make alcohol and cigarettes illegal.... More Domestic Violence is caused by alcohol and violence in general as well. I have yet to meet anyone who could brawl after smoking some weed.

As we move into a nationalized health care system, smoking will need to go, its too costly in rectifying the health problems related and smoking offers you nothing in return. At least weed offers you relaxation and some health benefits.

Helter,

I'm sure every forty-year-old pothead living in their parents' basement would agree.

It could be argued that those people would be living in their parents' basements anyways. Anyone with little bit of self respect wouldn't allow it to interfare with his/her life. I know many people, enjoying it responsibly, all their lives. Some of the most educated people to some of the most athletic or artistic people, with no problems attached. Showing the bad eggs as an example is not fair way of analyzing effects of this plant.

I'm sure every forty-year-old pothead living in their parents' basement would agree." Oh, that's cold. Well, no one saying you are going to become a pot head, just like if you have a glass of wine, you are not a drunk!

This can go a long way to fixing the budget.

marijuana makes you fat and lazy and the unfiltered tar will give you cancer. The THC is a poison

THC is not a poision! it's used successfuly as medicine. It doesn't make you any lazier than you already are. I don't think it makes you fat either. Actually all the smokers I know are much healtier than alcohol drinkers. Alcohol is the real danger here, not pot. Unfilterated tar from tobacco is bad, but only if it's mixed with tobacco. Surely anything burnt and inhailed is not healthy, but it's individuals choice and doesn't justify criminalization.

Surely anything burnt and inhailed is not healthy, but it's individuals choice and doesn't justify criminalization." You know, you could make a tea out of it and believe me, its good. But I disagree that it shouldn't be criminalized. Its the support of the drug dealers who are selling it that should worry people. What I worry about is where does it stop? after weed, what's next Opium, coke, crack? When do we draw the line? Actually, the law should either be decriminalized or go in the complete other direction, and become more strict to even forbid consumption, like Japan. I know it sounds harsh, you know you won't find too many drug dealers on the low end in Japan.

Its the support of the drug dealers who are selling it that should worry people.

Exactely. If it's legalized, drug dealing would be absolete. If it's legalized, it would not be a gateway drug. Only reason that it's considered as a gateway drug is because it's available at the same place where dangerous chemical drugs are sold. Children will be better protected, and potency could be controlled. I am sure, if it's legalized, people won't take changes with chemical drugs. Why would they buy highly toxic checmical drug that noone knows who made it, what they decided to mix in it, if cannabis was available at the corner store. It may even end terrorism and drug cartels, just because this is how they make most of their money. All the good things here, nothing bad. It will reduce violence, promote peace and people will develop better relationships with each other. I really believe it will be very beneficial for everyone.

Bobbafet,

Whilst I can't disagree with your description of a pot-smoker with his ambition and energy smurped out of him, these people are going to get caned whether it's illegal or not.

I say legalize the lot. Coke, brown, crystal meth the damned lot. Other than the charming fact that it would practically erradicate organized crime overnight, it also supplies the added bonus of hefty tax revenues. And I remain convinced that less people will actually be bothered to try anything when the mantle of testing illicit products is removed from the equasion for young people.

That should be "energy slurped out".

Its the support of the drug dealers who are selling it that should worry people.

If it's legalized, doesn't it become almost like cigarettes? As in, you don't have to sneak around to dealers to buy it? I think that would pretty much put dealers out of business.

Under federal law, marijuana is illegal, period.

End of story.

ah nvm, beaten to it.

I'm sure every forty-year-old pothead living in their parents' basement would agree.

Not all of them live in their parent's basement. Some live with their grandparents, some live in trailer parks and some may even live with another family member.

Some live with their grandparents, some live in trailer parks and some may even live with another family member

While others hold the world record on swimming, elected as governors or presidents, school principals, sumo wrestlers, rugby team members, professors, doctors, list goes on and on.

Damien15: I think you said it best. Legalizing pot will not cause the world to go to pot. Quite the opposite actually; it would likely solve a lot of problems! RESPONSIBLE use of marijuana will not make you fat, lazy, give you cancer or make you an addict. These are simply myths. If anyone is interested, there's a good documentary called 'The Union: The Business Behind Getting High'. Check it out!

Please visit accident & emergency unit of hospital on Friday/Saturday night to view the damage alcohol does to people & societies before making such harsh judgements about pot use.

Illegal drugs = profits for crime syndicates, tax revenue loss for us

I disagree with dophingirl and others who say smoking pot doesn't make you lazy. It has been proven that smoking it does create a condition known as hypoglycemia, where the blood sugar level skyrockets when high, and plummets when you come down. Ever heard of the munchies? There's the reason. The blood sugar has plummeted and people need to gorge themselves, often with very sweet sugared (yin) foods to get the blood sugar up past the abnormally low level. The low level contributes to a feeling of lethargy and that makes you lazy. And just like in smoking cigarettes, there isn't a person who smokes just 1 cigarette a day, its more like an article I read where the smoker said, "After I quite smoking MJ for 2 years and other drug used completely, I still had an urge to return to MJ. One day I gave into the urge thinking I'd control it by smoking 1-2 a month. After 3 months I was smoking 3-4 times a week, and in 6 months, I was smoking everyday before noon." That's how smoking ANYTHING works. It just eats at you, calling out til the lighter is lit.

I hope those singnators are providing their full details including their license plate and drivers license info so that the cops can crack down on them operating their vehicles under the influence. Pot lasts a lot longer in the system than alcohol does. And it does impair a person too. This is an opportunity to make some money from these hippie wannabes if it gets legalized.

[RESPONSIBLE use of marijuana will not make you fat, lazy, give you cancer or make you an addict. These are simply myths]

Myths? The more you do it the more you think you need it. That's called addiction. I've seen it in a friend back home.

Isthistheend, it's a bit of exxageration to say skyrocketed and plummet sugar levels. It does get higher, but balances back itself. It may make you lazy during, but no problem the next day. But the point is, you can quit doing it, when you realize you're getting lazy or other side effects starting to bother you. In fact, that's what you did. We are all responsible of controlling our lives. Not giving in to our temptations. You kinda gave in when allowing yourself to light up one everyday, starting noon. The way you described about that's how smoking anything goes, it was a good decision to quit.

isthistheend: '...I gave into the urge' What you just described is PSYCHOLOGICAL addiction and not PHYSICAL addiction. In physical addiction, if you take away the drug, the person experiences withdrawal symptoms. Marijuana is psychologically additive for some people but it is not physically addictive. Many things are psychologically addictive: shopping, gambling, computer games...And some people are more vulnerable to becoming addicted because of their personality.

Also, it's not like cigarettes which contain nicotine and ARE physically addictive. As dilbert14 said, as responsible adults we have to be able to control our urges and cravings. Perhaps even more importantly, know thyself.

It's worth pointing out that while federal laws will still make marijuana illegal, this means only the FBI and federal courts can try you for possession. California will not, and that's where most of the case work is being handled. Between the tug and pull of the two, the bottom line is California would essentially give up on enforcement. Not the first time this scenario has happened.

And good luck trying to bring back McCarthyism where you are investigated and tracked solely for your political beliefs and excercise of free speech. I've never used marijuana in my life and never will, my problem is with all my tax dollars going to sending and keeping people in bars when they should be in treatment. I'm also against throwing people who speed on the freeway in jail, doesn't mean I speed. I'm also against forcing women to wear burqas and I'm not a woman.

Nice try though.

There are a ton of requirements that need to be met before MJ should be legalized. First of all is the rules and regulations that apply to cigarettes need to be applied to the weed. Only licensed farmers should be allowed to grow it. And of course all smoking/non-smoking rules apply as well (y'know, don't smoke around the kids etc.)

dolphingirl, pot can cause cancer. Don't even try to argue against that, yes if you vaporize you can significantly reduce the cancer causing effects of pot but to say that pot can't cause cancer even if its responsibly used is just simply a lie. That is like saying if you use cigarettes responsibly it won't cause cancer or if you drink alcohol responsibly you won't suffer from liver damage or suffer from cancer, it is just not true.

psychological and physical addictions are just as strong each other.

"And some people are more vulnerable to becoming addicted because of their personality."

And some people are more vulnerable to becoming physically addicted to a drug because of their genes. What is your point?

Something you should be aware of dolphingirl is that THC levels, the chemical that would make pot physically addictive, in pot is rising all across the nation in reports from drug seizures from toxicology labs at hospitals, my dad works at the HCMC hospital in Minnesota in the toxicology lab and he himself has seen it from his own test results that THC levels are on the rise in pot. Pot growers are making pot more potent by increasing its THC levels, now it hasn't got to the point where it is physically addictive but if it keeps going the way it is, pot will become physically addictive in the near future.

Just needs to get legalization in one state then it's going to go state by state. Very slow, but it will. < :-)