Conflicting marijuana laws take stage in trial

The majority of drug-related violence occurs because drugs are illegal, not as a result of people using them. End the drug war and end the violence. Not to mention, it would cut off funding for the street gangs if they were no longer the exclusive dealers.

Lionel Hutz wrote:

a message to my fellow "recreational cannabis utilizers":
make the investment in a vaporizer. it:
-- reduces carcinogens to 3%(it doesn't cause combustion)
-- by not burning your plant, it DOUBLES it's potency
-- every hit tastes like a "greenie"
for ease of use, get a Volcano!
("I've argued in front of many judges... one time as a lawyer!")

These are great. I used one down at a wedding/festival near Carbondale. Clean hit. No smoke and of course the community oriented practice of "passing the bag around".Nice post.

I can hear the sound of the cash register and tax dollars collected if it was legal.

The volcanos are awesome but at around $500 they're pretty steep. Watch Super High Me.

Someone must be making a pile of money to keep this stuff illegal. A big pile. I don't understand why they don't treat it more like alcohol (which is addictive, destructive and probably ruins a whole lot more lives than marijuana), sell it to people in the drug store and tax the living crap out of it, just like they do alcohol. The government will get its' share and the jails will empty out. It's riduculous to ruin the lives of people that are just smoking a little weed. The hard stuff like meth and cocaine should be treated harshly, but not marijuana. You'd think the chocolate lobby would be interested in seeing it become legal.

The only thing in danger from a pothead is a Twinkie.

This judge is making a serious error:

While it's perfectly true from a hierarchy of law standpoint that federal law trumps state law - and I suppose one might be able to say, at least abstractly, that the state law was therefore "irrelevant" as to what the law of the land was..

But that doesn't mean that the defendant shouldn't be able to mention the phrase "medical marijuana" or the conflicting state law etc."

A judge rules on matters of law, and would always be able to tell the jury that federal law trumps state law.

But the existence of the state law allowing "medical marijuana" and the fact that the defendant had a "medical marijuana clinic" are far from "irrelevant" to the case.

In fact, by denying the defendant the right to explain the context of his actions, the judge is denying him the ability to mount his defence and have a fair trial.

Any conviction the prosecution gets under such absurd circumstances should rightfully be overturned.

Brian wrote:

I'd like to know where the marijuana comes from. Is he growing it himself, or is he buying it from the same murderous druglords and gangbangers as everyone else? With the amount of weed that he is selling, I doubt that he is growing it himself. This to me is the problem with legalizing marijuana. It is more likely that marijuana would be decriminalized, rather than legalized, meaning that you couldn't get busted for having small amounts of it, but it would still be illegal to sell it and certainly to move it across borders. People are killed everyday here in Chicago because of the drug business, and decriminalizing personal marijuana use would only make it worse. I think it should be all or nothing. Either completely legalize it, so that it can be grown here in the U.S., sold here, and used here legally; or completely illegal.

Legalizing ALL drugs would reduce the number of people killed who are involved in the drug business. The number of deaths would instantly be reduced to the number of people killed who work at liquor stores.

It's amazing that anyone reading this newspaper would support prosecuting people for choosing to put things in their body.
These are the comment forums where people snarl and gnash their teeth about the nanny state. Well, criminalizing drugs is the ultimate in nanny state thinking.
Where are all you freedom loving Americans hiding when it comes to the insane, ineffective and un-American war on drugs? We should have no restrictions on what we can put in our own bodies! We all know prohibition of alcohol did not work. We all know prohibition of drugs is not working. Not only that, it is costing us billions of dollars a year.
This is supposed to be the land of the free. What about states' rights? Where are all you pusillanimous Republicans? What about states rights? What about individual rights? What are you scared of? Stand up for your party's traditional platform, reject the fascists who have perverted the ideals which made the Republican Party great, and return to your roots! Have Bush and Cheney turned you into a bunch of f u c k i n g sheep?!!
I will paraphrase Ben Franklin: They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little [perceived but false] temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

All you people who think that this is a Bush-Chaney issue were either born in th last 8 years and don't know the history or you have too much weed in the cool aid you're drinking. Read something besides the Rolling Stone and you might learn something- although I doubt it.

And those that say that marijuana doesn't contribute to highway deaths, lung disease and other negative health problems are flat out stupid. Let me explain it- if you take anything, set it on fire and huff it down into your lungs, it's unhealthy. Think about it.

Pete wrote:

The majority of drug-related violence occurs because drugs are illegal, not as a result of people using them. End the drug war and end the violence. Not to mention, it would cut off funding for the street gangs if they were no longer the exclusive dealers.

End the war on kiddie porn. Stop the flow of massive profits to the criminal kiddie-porn dealers and there won't be any kiddie porn. End kiddie-porn street violence, kiddie-porn gangs and kiddie-porn political corrruption.

Brian wrote:

I'd like to know where the marijuana comes from. Is he growing it himself, or is he buying it from the same murderous druglords and gangbangers as everyone else? With the amount of weed that he is selling, I doubt that he is growing it himself. This to me is the problem with legalizing marijuana. It is more likely that marijuana would be decriminalized, rather than legalized, meaning that you couldn't get busted for having small amounts of it, but it would still be illegal to sell it and certainly to move it across borders. People are killed everyday here in Chicago because of the drug business, and decriminalizing personal marijuana use would only make it worse. I think it should be all or nothing. Either completely legalize it, so that it can be grown here in the U.S., sold here, and used here legally; or completely illegal.

Agreed, decriminalization is a pandorah's box. Legalize it, and tax it. It is the largest cash crop in California, the largest agricultural state in the union. We are losing a lot of revenue, and spending more to enforce the absurd law.

Brian wrote:

I'd like to know where the marijuana comes from. Is he growing it himself, or is he buying it from the same murderous druglords and gangbangers as everyone else? With the amount of weed that he is selling, I doubt that he is growing it himself. This to me is the problem with legalizing marijuana. It is more likely that marijuana would be decriminalized, rather than legalized, meaning that you couldn't get busted for having small amounts of it, but it would still be illegal to sell it and certainly to move it across borders. People are killed everyday here in Chicago because of the drug business, and decriminalizing personal marijuana use would only make it worse. I think it should be all or nothing. Either completely legalize it, so that it can be grown here in the U.S., sold here, and used here legally; or completely illegal.

Most marijauna is grown in the US. Anyone who tells you anything else is perpetuating government hype.

Aaron wrote:

And the likes of Rush Limbuagh can slam back all the "legal drugs" he wants (even write his own prescriptions) without the feds even raising an eyebrow. The federal drug policy is so much donkey hooha.

It's illegal because any homer simpson can grow it in his living room. It will most likely reduce the profits of pharmaceuticals and other corporations like inbev. Our politicians need to stop getting 'rear ended' by lobbyists – it’s another opportunity to generate tax revenue and eliminate an integral source of criminal revenue.

Had Enough wrote:

All you people who think that this is a Bush-Chaney issue were either born in th last 8 years and don't know the history or you have too much weed in the cool aid you're drinking.

Well "States' Rights" has been a Republican Issue for decades.

Or at least it has putatively been so. I can't help but notice that they abandon this supposedly cherished principle of theirs whenever it's inconvenient,

such as when the Florida Supreme Court is about to rule on a controversy involving their state's presidental primary,

or when states want to legalize medical marijuana.

I thought when I was "old enough" marijuana would be legalized...now I'm 57...darn...

S C R E W THE FASCIST NAZI FEDS!!!!
LEGALIZE MARIJUANA and REAP THE TAXES FROM IT TO HELP PAYDOWN THE NEOCON CAUSED DEFICIT!!

Brian wrote:

I'd like to know where the marijuana comes from. Is he growing it himself, or is he buying it from the same murderous druglords and gangbangers as everyone else? With the amount of weed that he is selling, I doubt that he is growing it himself. This to me is the problem with legalizing marijuana. It is more likely that marijuana would be decriminalized, rather than legalized, meaning that you couldn't get busted for having small amounts of it, but it would still be illegal to sell it and certainly to move it across borders. People are killed everyday here in Chicago because of the drug business, and decriminalizing personal marijuana use would only make it worse. I think it should be all or nothing. Either completely legalize it, so that it can be grown here in the U.S., sold here, and used here legally; or completely illegal.

Well it's completely illegal now ...and how's that workin' for ya? Pretty poorly, huh?

No, decriminalization would actually be very helpful and help clear up much-needed space and money for the criminal justice system -- getting rid of petty users and offenders whilde allowing law enforcement to focus more on killers and other, more serious criminals,-- that is, besides those sick and dying people who produce and/or use medicinal marijuana.

The real lowdown is this, imo:

There is nothing you can do that the anti-cannabis propaganda machine will not spin. Substitute jail sentences by diverting cannabis offenders to some useless mandatory treatment and drug warriors will say the treatment rates for cannabis are at an all time high. That is, the new potent cannabis is putting people into treatment, not that it is just the criminal justice system sending them there because of a law which was supposed to stop putting these people in jail. Potency is a another one, breed better cannabis and the government says it is more "dangerous" just because it is better. The government even wants to equate drugs with terrorism but whose fault is that? If the usa dropped their cannabis laws, every other western country would too.

There are not enough potheads in the U.S. to put anyone in the Presidency. Maybe you think there is, but go ahead. Obama should run on the principal of legalizing marijuana. How about "Obama the change every marijuana user, crack user desires".

What a bunch of stupid talk. Legalize marijuana because it's good for you. Good for what? What purpose does it serve? Who would benefit from making marijuana legal? President Bush had nothing to do with making marijuana illegal! The largest exporter (90%)of marijuana, heroin, etc. is Mexico into the U.S. The biggest users of drugs in the U.S. are blacks, and hispanics. The black, and hispanic communities are filled with drug users where the crime rates are exceedingly high. Goddam the pusher man.