Voters in Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, Oregon, and Washington will not be the only ones deciding on marijuana policy on Election Day.
Voters in four Michigan cities — totaling over a million people — will also decide on Tuesday whether to legalize or depenalize the adult use of cannabis.
Voters in Detroit will decide on Proposal M, which removes criminal penalties pertaining to the possession on private property of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults over age 21.
In Flint, Michigan voters will decide on a citizens’ initiative to amend the city code so that the possession on private property of up to one ounce of marijuana or cannabis paraphernalia by those age 19 or older is no longer a criminal offense.
Grand Rapids voters will act on Proposal 2, which seeks to allow local law enforcement the discretion to ticket first-time marijuana offenders with a civil citation, punishable by a $25 fine and no criminal record.
In Ypsilanti, voters will decide on a proposal to make the local enforcement of marijuana possession offenses the city’s lowest law enforcement priority.
Under state law, possessing cannabis is a criminal misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
More information on this year’s cannabis-centric state and local initiatives may be found at NORML’s Smoke the Vote page here.
Again – its about fucking time.
Now – when will our bureaucrats get a clue and realize this has to change?
1) Large numbers of people support its legalization
-many legal meetings and forums, as in the article, are forming up to change its impact
-overwhelming arrests for nothing cause a huge legal resource burden
-many many Americans are denied other RIGHTS just because they were caught in the gears of our system
AUTOMATICALLY take all arrestees for cannabis
as being voters for it.
(a logical and accurate deduction, I would say…)
and this:
Police made 757,969 arrests in 2011 for marijuana-related offenses, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Uniform Crime Report
from:
http://blog.norml.org/2012/10/29/marijuana-arrests-decline-in-2011-but-still-total-half-of-all-illicit-drug-violations/
=
so, basically, 3/4 of a million people not only are FOR its legalization-
aside from the others who either do not partake, yet see through the ‘Drug War’ tm* lies
observe:
-the financial impact to our country
-the impact to Americans, individually and as family collectives
and compare that to:
-monies which our unsteady economy desperately needs (and which are currently funneled into the hands of ~enemy organizations, [criminal organizations who care not for the well-being of Americans])
and compare that result
(which effectively ends up negative for society)
against the supposed harmful effects of a plant
-WHICH IS NOT GOING AWAY
-HAS NOT EVEN BEEN LESSENED IN USAGE/ACCESSIBILTY
-IS HARMLESS (and even beneficial)
=====
Only a madman,
or someone with a scheme to gain independent of Americans – AND EVEN AT THEIR EXPENSE,
would declare this current state as being wise and prudent for our country
The object that I am concerned with is not so much the legalization of marijuana as it is the legalization of hemp.
The fact that marijuana will be legal is a benefit. There is a huge prison industry in the United States. A system that is filled by black to the greatest extent and contributes to the lack of human rights we are guaranteed in the constitution. Legalization would eliminate the need to house the people who are oppressed by law enforcement.
My real concern is to the legalization of hemp. Hemp could be a major part of correcting our economy and making the United States a production economy once again. This weed can positively effect a dozen industries from plastic to paper. The boards and plywood made from hemp could help our lumber mills put people back to work. The revitalize our economy and the stock market, plus it would benefit all of us. Even those who consider the average man a “47% dependent.”
Legalize marijuana and hemp for ourselves, for our country and for our children who we do not want to saddle with our debt.
These city by city measures don’t go far enough…
I believe WA and CO are both going to legalize in about a week, and we will witness American history. It’s a great time to be alive. It’s exciting. The legalization of this plant will change everything. This country will never be the same, and this plant will bring so much good to the citizens of these states. More and more people will see this, and other states will follow. Some will be amazed at the great things this plant brings, but not me. I don’t claim to be the only one by any means. Many others know what I’m saying, but some will be shocked.
The millions of jobs it will create… the billions in revenue it will bring. The millions of sick people that will be cured of their ailments. Prison populations will drop and the taxpayers will save billions. The infrastructure of cities will be rebuilt. The school systems will get more funding. The parks for the children will get money. There will be less people drinking and driving hence traffic fatalities will drop. There will be less crime as a result of less alcohol consumption. People will be happier and friendlier and less stressed. This won’t happen overnight however.
Cannabis use won’t increase drastically right away, but I believe it will gradually over time. And five to ten years later, it will be very different. We’ll look back at the days of prohibition when alcohol use was out of control. When 50 to 75 percent of the population thought that this natural plant was evil. We’ll laugh at these people even more, and they might start laughing themselves! Of course there will be some that will refuse to admit ignorance no matter what happens because of pride but the facts will be undeniable.
Addiction won’t be a problem because it’s not addictive. Most everyone in addiction clinics right now are only there because the system has put them there. Hopefully the system changes with legalization and realizes that putting teens in treatment for merely using cannabis is senseless if they don’t have a problem. As it is now, a teen can get caught with his first joint and be sent a drug rehabilitation program. He is then labeled an addict in the system. So when you hear that “there are over 300,000 marijuana addicts in the U.S.”, take it with a grain of salt because it’s a lie. And when I say that it’s not addictive, I don’t mean it’s impossible to get addicted. I once heard a story about a girl being addicted to snorting baby powder. This is a true story. I think you can agree that baby powder is not addictive, but someone will get addicted to it. Same with Cannabis. It’s generally not addictive and studies have shown it’s less addictive than coffee. Coffee addiction is not a problem in society that needs to be addressed, and neither is Cannabis addiction. Although some will tell you differently.
Pharmaceutical sales WILL drop to never before seen levels, and yet statistics will show that cancer is on the decline. They will show that people are healthier… that less people are being admitted for illness and disease. Alcohol sales will drop and so will domestic violence crimes. Assaults, shootings, and stabbings will drop in frequency. State tourism will increase, and revenue brought in will be at levels that nobody thought was possible. CO and WA will be beautiful places in live in, and people will take notice. Other states will be envious. The transformation of these states is going to be utterly amazing to some. But again, myself and others will not be surprised. The amount of good this plant will bring will be unimaginable. And the bad it brings will be so negligible it won’t matter. The Hemp seed is one of the healthiest things on this earth that you can eat. Juicing Cannabis is as well. This plant that mankind has been demonizing for decades is GOOD. It’s not only NOT bad for you, it’s GOOD for you. I am fully aware that this might sound absurd to some, but it’s true. I’ve done the research. And if you don’t know this to be true, you will. We are on the verge of great change, and it will be great, as in spectacularly GOOD. Greater than most, including myself, can imagine.
The truth will set you free. And the truth is about to be let out of the bag. The Herb will be free and peace and love will be more prevalant in society. This is going to be epic people. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Love it.