Full legalization is a LONG way away. The area of law I practice in, employment, is one of the areas where this is really clear: The California Fair Employment and Housing Act, or FEHA, recognizes the use of some prescription drugs, and mandates that employers, in certain situations, must accommodate the user of those drugs if the use of those drugs somehow limits their ability to do their job.
But it doesn't provide the same protections to medical marijuana. The way in which the Compassionate Care Act of 1996 was drafted, it addresses only the criminal aspects as it pertains to patients. It doesn't address employment aspects, or any of the other ways in which marijuana can impact lives. The CA Supreme Court ruled that employers do not have to accommodate compassionate care users for precisely this reason - the Act doesn't address employment law. Kind of a legal punt, but it drew attention to just how narrowly the Compassionate Care Act is drawn. There was an Oregon decision recently which arrived at the same rationale. Now, if two of the most pot-friendly states in the country have rulings like that on the books, the 9th circuit is not likely to hold another way if a case were to make it that far.
But the decriminalization has been good. And, in reality, no cop is going to bust you for a joint or a dime bag. Driving while doing smoking/stoned? Another story, as well it should be.
― Let Amare go ham like he was all you can eating it (B.L.A.M.), Sunday, 6 June 2010 23:13 (thirteen years ago) link
no cop is going to bust you for a joint or a dime bag.
if you have the right color of skin
― donk quixote (The Reverend), Monday, 7 June 2010 14:02 (thirteen years ago) link
I doubt we'll ever see pot legalized, though it would be so convenient if it was. OK, maybe not "ever," but I really seriously doubt it'll happen in the next 20-40 years, or so long as we have Mormons in the U.S.
― breaking that little dog's heart chakra (Abbott), Monday, 7 June 2010 14:14 (thirteen years ago) link
Rev otm, and if you're in the "wrong" neighborhood, you'd be surprised how small an infraction you can end up in handcuffs for
― the mom most likely to comprehend juggalos (J0hn D.), Monday, 7 June 2010 14:54 (thirteen years ago) link
no cop is going to bust you for a joint or a dime bag.if you have the right color of skin― donk quixote (The Reverend), Monday, June 7, 2010 10:02 AM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark
― donk quixote (The Reverend), Monday, June 7, 2010 10:02 AM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark
I used to work at a diner where for dishwashers we hired convicts who were trying to get back on their feet, and they were mostly black guys that had been in jail for years and years after being busted in this way. Legalization is in a large part a civil rights cause.
― Adam Bruneau, Monday, 7 June 2010 16:31 (thirteen years ago) link
i think the legalization ballot measure is going down fwiw
why do you think this...? I haven't seen any authoritative polling to-date.
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 16:36 (thirteen years ago) link
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/31/local/la-me-0601-poll-20100529
i just have a feeling. people don't pay attention to propositions, even this one, until the ads start ratcheting up and the opposition has a lot of boogeymen to unleash, not to mention opposing the measure more forcefully in the coming months is low-hanging fruit for both of the likely gub nominees. from what i've seen, trying to put myself in the shoes of the 'average voter' the pro argument as articulated feels kind of ad-hoc but that could change too.
― edd|e house is not a homie (tremendoid), Monday, 7 June 2010 17:51 (thirteen years ago) link
Besides the Office of National Drug Control Policy, who funds opposition advertising? Someone said the cigarette companies spend a lot on opposition advertising, but I couldn't find any data to support that. Anyone here know?
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 17:57 (thirteen years ago) link
cigarette companies are all broke I thought
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 17:59 (thirteen years ago) link
I would not be surprised if it were religious people (cough cough Mormons). If there *were* a national vote, you bet the Mormon Church would do a Prop-8 style $$$$ push to shut that shit down. I promise.
― breaking that little dog's heart chakra (Abbott), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:00 (thirteen years ago) link
are tobacco companies even allowed to spend campaign money? so many lawsuits/civil suits have crippled the industry
xp
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:00 (thirteen years ago) link
If there *were* a national vote, you bet the Mormon Church would do a Prop-8 style $$$$ push to shut that shit down. I promise.
I can see this happening. at the same time, most of the country does not love Mormons, much less being told what to do by Mormons.
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:01 (thirteen years ago) link
like what is the percentage that thinks Mormons aren't "really" Christians...? it's pretty high iirc
Well, sure, but it worked w/Prop 8, right?
― breaking that little dog's heart chakra (Abbott), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:01 (thirteen years ago) link
And it's not like they would advertise, "WE, the MORMONS, want you to never smoke pot! And also we don't really have multiple wives. Brought to you by THE MORMONS."
― breaking that little dog's heart chakra (Abbott), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:02 (thirteen years ago) link
Sponsored by the Mormons For Curtailing Your Fun Committee for America (c)
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 18:04 (thirteen years ago) link
At any rate, this topic of converrsation ("will pot be legalized") always kind of feels like a mass funtime of projections of the speakers' pasts & desires. I, por ejemplo, would love for pot to be legalized, but grew up in a community where smoking weed was tantamount (in perceived riskiness & evilness) to smoking meth. This informs my perspective. I imagine someone who grew up in a less conservative area, or had pot-smoking parents, would have a more optimistic view. ANd someone who thinks weed is bad, and has never smoked it, would naturally be more inclined to say it's so not gonna happen. I feel in some ways like there's no way to know.
― breaking that little dog's heart chakra (Abbott), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:06 (thirteen years ago) link
i suspect in my lifetime we will see the states where it's been cleared for medical purposes legalize it wholesale; everywhere else will be in sort of limbo between where we are now and full legalization
― used to bull's-eye Zach Wamps in my T-16 back home (will), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:15 (thirteen years ago) link
It seems to me that once it's become fully legalized in a few states, it'll be de facto legal everywhere. They can't exactly set up state border patrols to make sure you aren't buying in NJ and driving it up to NY, or whatever.
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 18:17 (thirteen years ago) link
still pretty illegal in lots of europe, despite amsterdam
― iatee, Monday, 7 June 2010 18:25 (thirteen years ago) link
Europe's different
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:31 (thirteen years ago) link
As far as I know, Prohibition was repealed everywhere all at once, but an interesting comparison might be individual state tax laws on vices. Technically, afaik, it's illegal to buy alcohol in NJ and then drive it into PA, but this obviously happens all the time, whenever someone in Cherry Hill picks up a bottle of wine and then drives to his friend's place in Philadelphia, and it's de facto legal. How can you enforce that kind of law?
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 18:35 (thirteen years ago) link
wrt CA as an avowed pessimist the fact that they gathered the signatures still feels like found money, bottom line is i think the radius of 'public consciousness raising' for legalization hasn't extended nearly as far as the medical angle, which tbh still relies on compassion for the very very sick to get over (medical cannabis is not going away but it's still plenty begrudged among the majority of counties and municipalities). i mean i hope that's an antiguated view of how politics move in 2010 but yeah, prop 8. think we can just wipe away the culture of prohibition w/o at least will n' gracing it for a minute, it just can't be that easy, right?
― edd|e house is not a homie (tremendoid), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:39 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, i guess i would liken it blue laws around here. like, you would probably never ever be able to just pop by dispensary/ package store in the state of Tennessee and buy a nice bottle of wine and some white widow for your dinner party. but if you were pulled over and had an oz cops would just be like eh, whatever - as long as you aren't smokin & drivin (someone will obviously need to build some kind of breath-alizer for weed if it's ever to be legalized i'm guessing)
― used to bull's-eye Zach Wamps in my T-16 back home (will), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:42 (thirteen years ago) link
56% of CA supports legalizing weed as of a couple months ago
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:42 (thirteen years ago) link
xxposts
shakey i posted a more recent poll upthread fwiw, but again i think it's too early to hang your hat on either one
― edd|e house is not a homie (tremendoid), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Wish 538 would run something about it.
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 18:49 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah I agree - margins are probably soft, and we haven't seen any marketing really get started yet
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 18:49 (thirteen years ago) link
As I indicated upthread, while there are still federal anti-drug laws and while Congress is dominated by anti-legalization sentiment (think Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennesee, ad infinitum), even if California voted to legalize pot, the Feds would be able to render that vote moot, by independent DEA raids, federal prosecutions, and what's worst, by almost certainly withholding vast amounts of federal funds for all kinds of stuff - from Medicaid to schools.
CA would relent within months.
― Aimless, Monday, 7 June 2010 18:55 (thirteen years ago) link
It looks like the Federal government is moving away from enforcement, not towards it. It's hard to imagine Obama giving the order to resume the raiding. (I thought that had stopped, btw?)
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:02 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah they have and Obama's made it explicitly clear that prosecuting marijuana is not a priority
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 19:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Also, I don't know how this would actually play out politically, but with a right-wing totally committed to limiting federal power for probably the next six years, and a left-wing with a large group that is pro legalization, I can't see a lot of people pushing for federal enforcement.
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:05 (thirteen years ago) link
no one's winning the White House with CA's votes either - state might take a dim view of a sitting president waging financial war against it, esp when it's in such dire straits already
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 19:07 (thirteen years ago) link
withOUT CA's votes sorry
Hard to imagine there is anything a sitting Democratic president could do that would stop CA from voting for him. I think if Obama wanted to, he could act against CA's economic interests with more or less impunity.
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:09 (thirteen years ago) link
just thinking of a president winning w/o CA makes me hear hoofbeats xp
― Astronaut Mike Dexter (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Monday, 7 June 2010 19:09 (thirteen years ago) link
a right-wing totally committed to limiting federal power
The right wing's commitment to limiting government definitely does not extend to the DEA, or to any action that could remotely be construed as "soft on drugs". One has only to look at the past 40 years to see this is true.
― Aimless, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:10 (thirteen years ago) link
mainstream right-wingers still want pot smoking deadbeats in jail. limited federal intervention just means states can pass their own draconian laws against it, right?
― hobbes, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:11 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes, but once you've opened the door to states passing their own draconian laws, you've also opened the door to some states totally legalizing it.
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Nope. The argument would be that you can't have it legal in one state, because it would become a staging area for growing and then exporting pot to other states. Which is true enough.
― Aimless, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:15 (thirteen years ago) link
CA needs a new cash crop!
― in my day we had to walk 10 miles in the snow for VU bootleg (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 June 2010 19:16 (thirteen years ago) link
It's time to return to an agrarian economy, dude.
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:17 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm with Wm. F. Buckley on this issue. Ending pot prohibition makes sense to me in a dozen different ways. But legalization is not about to happen. Decriminalization of small amounts in self-selected places is the best you can get in the present climate.
― Aimless, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:21 (thirteen years ago) link
if california successfully legalized it in a way that made a ton of $ for the state, I could imagine lots of things happening faster outside of california
― iatee, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Somewhat relevant: http://www.slate.com/id/2255385/
Review of new book about prohibition.
― Mordy, Monday, 7 June 2010 19:29 (thirteen years ago) link
Colorado laws re dispensaries. Salon frames it as a positive ("Gov. Bill Ritter signs laws that could let hundreds of dispensaries continue to operate") tho ultimately it's going to involve places closing.
http://www.salon.com/news/medicine/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/06/07/us_medical_marijuana
― Mordy, Tuesday, 8 June 2010 06:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Legalization is in a large part a civil rights cause.
― Adam Bruneau, Monday, June 7, 2010 9:31 AM Bookmark
^ DING DING DING
btw, this is what their trying to get on the ballot in OR: http://cannabistaxact.org/
― donk quixote (The Reverend), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 06:58 (thirteen years ago) link
Just wanna say wrt legalization versus medical legalization, while I firmly believe that medical legalization is the door to full legalization, I also believe that medical legalization is itself an important battle. I've known many people suffer through ailments that were alleviated in a healthy safe way through medical marijuana and without stating it explicitly, it's an issue that hits very close to home as well. While there are a lot of treatments for certain illnesses + disorders, those treatments often come with side effects and shit like that, whereas marijuana can often really be a wonder drug.
― Mordy, Tuesday, 8 June 2010 07:02 (thirteen years ago) link
someone happened to have posted this on fb while i was reading this thread: State Medical Marijuana Laws Are Getting Stricter
― donk quixote (The Reverend), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 07:33 (thirteen years ago) link
Am I correct in thinking it's pretty unusual for states to legalize it via the legislature?
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:38 (three years ago) link
yeah, they tried that here in NJ but Murphy couldn't wrangle the dem majority to get their crap together. Ended up on going on the ballot and passed no problem.
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 25 March 2021 18:00 (three years ago) link
Illinois passed it via legislature, and at the time it was the most progressive in the country, as far as steering tax money back to the communities who are targeted in the war on drugs
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, 25 March 2021 18:04 (three years ago) link
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/23/980277688/in-likely-first-chicago-suburb-of-evanston-approves-reparations-for-black-reside
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 25 March 2021 21:12 (three years ago) link
comically long url
wow!
― John Cooper of Christian rock band Skillet (map), Thursday, 25 March 2021 21:20 (three years ago) link
w33d buxx doing some good! i think it can do more but it's a start
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 25 March 2021 21:32 (three years ago) link
^^^
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, 25 March 2021 21:35 (three years ago) link
as i paid an extra $100 in taxes for the ounce i purchased the other day, it honestly did make me feel better that a lot of it was going to those kinds of efforts
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, 25 March 2021 21:36 (three years ago) link
The New York state legislature formally voted to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana for adults and expunge the records of people previously convicted of possession.Shortly after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, the New York State Assembly voted 100-49 to pass the marijuana legalization bill.
Shortly after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, the New York State Assembly voted 100-49 to pass the marijuana legalization bill.
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Wednesday, 31 March 2021 13:25 (three years ago) link
dang tho
― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 31 March 2021 14:03 (three years ago) link
Had been wondering with all the sexual harassment accusations hitting cuomo if he was going to pull a northam in VA and get legalization legislation signed to try and get some goodwill back.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Wednesday, 31 March 2021 18:14 (three years ago) link
you wondered correctly
― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 31 March 2021 21:14 (three years ago) link
under different circumstances, there would have been mass smoke outs all across nyc in response to this but i dunno if i've even seen anything on insta about it yet!
― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 1 April 2021 17:36 (three years ago) link
One crazy provision is that w33d smoking is allowed in public where cigarettes are allowed
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 1 April 2021 18:21 (three years ago) link
:O
― I like signing up to dead sites (sleeve), Thursday, 1 April 2021 18:42 (three years ago) link
lolhttps://nypost.com/2021/04/01/nypd-gives-cops-new-orders-to-let-people-smoke-weed-in-public/
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Friday, 2 April 2021 13:20 (three years ago) link
Specific guidance in the memo tells cops that people 21 and older can legally smoke weed “almost anywhere that cigarette smoking is allowed including on sidewalks, on front stoops and other public places.”
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Friday, 2 April 2021 13:22 (three years ago) link
Wonder how NASWIPP feels about this
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Friday, 2 April 2021 15:37 (three years ago) link
Marijuana prohibition is unproductive and unjust — and as the newly elected Board Chair of @NORML, I hope you will join me in putting an end to it. You can get on board right now at https://t.co/qdFr9TGHvx— Rick Steves (@RickSteves) June 18, 2021
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Friday, 18 June 2021 13:29 (two years ago) link
Loling at people just realizing he's been the squarest stoner around for years.
― Vin Jawn (PBKR), Friday, 18 June 2021 14:29 (two years ago) link
rick steves rules, i aspire to his level of quick-drying, money-belted self-confidence
― adam, Friday, 18 June 2021 14:48 (two years ago) link
Biden and the Democrats not even giving us decriminalized weed is just an incredible own goal.
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Friday, 18 June 2021 15:10 (two years ago) link
I had no idea about Rick Steves' weed evangelism until that long New Yorker profile of him a few years back. Interesting dude.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 18 June 2021 16:17 (two years ago) link
Minnesota voice: “And he’s a good Lutheran”.
― Van Halen dot Senate dot flashlight (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 18 June 2021 18:10 (two years ago) link