Do we really want decriminalization??

Hey guys,

Im basically asking this question on behalf of all of the people that make a living off of cannabis as a whole.

If it were legalized, or even decriminalized, where would that leave all of us?? it would leave all of us at the mercy of the gov't, worried about how much theyll mark up the product, how the quality is gonna be, seeing as how they dont know dick about what we like, and theyll probably end up spraying their crops with all kinds of pesticides, fucked up nutrients, n they wont even flush at the end of grow. Theyll try and bio-engineer our bud, fuckin with it every single way possible to try and maximize their yield, and thusly, their profits, without giving a shit about quality because theyll make money off of it one way or the other, because they will be the only source for the chronic, now that people will be able to purchase it legally.

It would leave all of us growers, and dealers, left on the curb, trying to catch any type of change thrown our way, left over from the switch from private to corporately owned businesses, and basically leave all of us hangin in the wind, to go fuckin start workin at a telemarketing joint, fuckin hatin life. I mean, its a real catch 22 here. YEs, it would be awesome to be able to grow legally, and be able to sell to a compassion shop or some shit like that, n yeah itd be cool as shit to be able to walk into a corner store and buy a bag, but seriously once again, just how badly do we want this to happen?? pot snobs would suffer. Dealers would suffer. Most growers who do this thing for profit would suffer.

I dont know, im doin my research on where it would leave all of us, but i really am starting this thread because i want to hear what YOU guys think about it. Weve all been screamin about how badly we want it to be legal for so long, alot of people have forgotten, or havent even thought about the negative effects that legalization would have on the pot smoking n selling, or basically in general, the stoner community as a whole. Do we really want to be in the mainstream???

both negative aswell as positive feedback is as always, more than welcome, so make this a debate, a discussion, or whatever you wanna make it.

thanks,

-K1.

K1Ng5p4d3 said:

If it were legalized, or even decriminalized, where would that leave all of us?? it would leave all of us at the mercy of the gov't, worried about how much theyll mark up the product, how the quality is gonna be, seeing as how they dont know dick about what we like, and theyll probably end up spraying their crops with all kinds of pesticides, fucked up nutrients, n they wont even flush at the end of grow. Theyll try and bio-engineer our bud, fuckin with it every single way possible to try and maximize their yield, and thusly, their profits, without giving a shit about quality because theyll make money off of it one way or the other, because they will be the only source for the chronic, now that people will be able to purchase it legally.

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Hmm... now if it were really grown as shitty as you claim, don't you think people who want GOOD stuff would still be growing their own or buying it from people who grow their own instead of from the gov or companies?

k1ng are you saying you grow commercially?

man if its legalized it will be like Amsterdam, not sold at gas stations like cigarettes run by huge corporations..

I just think most if not all people who don't have med cards just don't want to go to jail for growing a couple of plants. I didn't start growing to sell it. I grow for myself and thats it. Tell ya the truth I could care less if dealers loose out cause it was legal. Even if I could buy it at the store like a pack of smokes I think I would still grow it. I bet they would stick nicotine in it if it was legal too. Just to get you addicted to it like cigarettes.

GrowTech said:

k1ng are you saying you grow commercially?

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I dont grow commercially right now, no - but who knows man. right now, i am growing for personal, n maybe to hook up a couple friends in need, but i mean, who knows what lay ahead. I was just talkin to an older buddy of mine earlier today and it got me thinkin. I mean, this guy moves lbs on the regular, and hes basically completely against the mainstreaming of our culture, cuz itll fuck alot of shit up for long, well established growers and dealers who like the way that things are right now.

As for my own personal opinion, im torn in between both sides. I was just starting the thread to see what other people felt about it. It really is tough to say that i completely want decriminalization to go through, unless the US ends up doin shit like they do in A-dam, where anybody who wants to grow copious amounts of ganja can simply go through an applicaton process and open up a coffeeshop - if shit were to go down like that, then i would be completely for it, with no type of doubt in my mind. I just dont want every preppy fuck on the face of the planet to think that they are part of the collective "US", because they smoke pot legally. Theres just somethin about being a part of our counterculture that makes me proud man. Its an honor and a privledge, and i dont know what decriminalization or eventual legalization would do to it.


I dunno man, call me a moron if you like, i just dont know. i mean, i DO wanna be able to smoke my ganj without worrying about a cop harrassing me, just like every other smoker in the world. But the other things that come along with it? its just another thing that Big Gov't will be taking from us, and making it their own, so they can market it and profit from it.

Kinda like how hippies got their trends ripped off in the 60's by Macy's and other clothing designers so that they could leach off of the trend, and make it seem like its the "cool" thing to do by dressing like a hippie. It really fuckin pissed off alot of people back then, and if you sit down and talk to some of them today about it, they get pissed off still, lol.

sorry officer... we dont do that here.

yeh fuck you cop. I would like to invite you to have sex with yourself. Because as far as im concerned, thats what you can go and do.

K1Ng5p4d3 said:

Im basically asking this question on behalf of all of the people that make a living off of cannabis as a whole.

It would leave all of us growers, and dealers, left on the curb, trying to catch any type of change thrown our way, left over from the switch from private to corporately owned businesses, and basically leave all of us hangin in the wind, to go fuckin start workin at a telemarketing joint, fuckin hatin life. I mean, its a real catch 22 here. YEs, it would be awesome to be able to grow legally, and be able to sell to a compassion shop or some shit like that, n yeah itd be cool as shit to be able to walk into a corner store and buy a bag, but seriously once again, just how badly do we want this to happen?? pot snobs would suffer. Dealers would suffer. Most growers who do this thing for profit would suffer.

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Well King, while I really appreciate your contribution and opinion, I don't think it would be possible for me to disagree with you more.

The gist of your argument, or concern appears to be the fact that if pot was legalized, the quality would decrease, the quantity would increase, and your profit margin would disappear. So, basically you would rather have hundreds of thousands of people incarcerated every year so that you can pay your rent? It really does seem ridiculous.

The american economic system runs on capitalism. Ever heard of the invisible hand? If you are providing a product (pot) for a price on the market right now, and government sanctions (legalization) comes in and makes it available for others to do the same thing for cheaper, the consumer will go with the cheaper product, assuming the quality would be the same. So your options would be to either sell your product for the same price as the 'commercial' individuals, or increase your quality while selling it at the same price. How is that a bad thing? The general public gets the same product for a cheaper price, or a better product for the same price, and a shit load of people stay out of jail in the process. Everyone wins, literally.

If you can't pay your rent, then make a better product, or make more of it, or get a new job, that's the way capitalism works.

And you make it sound like if the government legalized it on Monday, 100 corporate growers would appear on the streets on Tuesday, which I think is total crap. I think if anyone would suddenly flood the market it would be dealers like you, who already hold a majority stake in the market. So if anything, you would initially profit from it.

Just the way I see it though. I see how you see it the other way though King, just different opinions.

Bacon!

On the topic at hand, yeah, I want it legal, so I can grow my own for myself without fear of getting my property seized.Besides, there would still be a market for rare strains,and anyone who grows knows its a lot of work, and therefore not for everyone! EDIt: Can you imagine, being able to advertise it like a fine wine? "try the all new 2008 line of ganja from the Stoney Mcfried farms.Our skunk pairs nicely with mild cheese or nuts...for something that won't overwhelm your steak and potatoes, try the mild tasting "parsley".For an evening of debauchery, our "Porn star kush" is right up your alley.

Fuck the gov't fellas. They fuck just about everything they touch up. Not everything but just about everything. The only reason that they would want to legalize it is to make money, and that is NOT the right reason.
So how does that make the people that grow for money so bad? It would just be taking money out of the cool, heady and all around down ass people out of it. That sucks. Because they are the ones that have been putting there ass on the line for years trying to supply all the people that like to smoke. So they turn a profit, so fucking what. What would be the point in taking all that risk to not make money?

Our gov't cant even take care of a city after a hurricane.(katrina). It took em 5 days to get water to the fucking super dome. Let alone health care(1 out 3 people in america, the wealthiest nation in the history of civilization, do not have insurance). We are ranked 32nd in the world for health care. And lets not even get started on the environment. We consume 25% of the worlds oil but yet are only 4% of the population. We produce 33% of the worlds garbage also at 4% of the population. If everybody in the world was as glutonous as americans, it would take 5 earths to supply everything we need. Thats fucked, and OUR Gov't hasnt done a fucking thing about it.

So you say to your self, we need to legalize weed. Its complete bullshit. Yeah, it is a issue, but lets start with the environment and then the health care system. Until we fix those key issues, are future is pretty much fucked and the legalization of MJ is gonna be irrelevant because we wont be here.

Side note: 3 out of the top 10 fortune 500 companies are pharmaceutical companies, but the funny part is that they make up 50 percent of the profits of the top ten companies. In essence, drugs are a business, thats why they dont cure shit, they treat it. If they cured it there would be no money in it. They would rather have you taken pills for the rest of your life. make sense?

What I'm trying to say is that there are real issues that need attention. Not this phony pseudo-elitest "legalize it man" bullshit. Legalizing MJ isnt gonna do shit for our kids and there kids. I just wish people would talk about things that actually matter and that threaten us everyday other than this same old repetitive "lets legalize it" campaign. It just gets old.

Sorry about the rant fellas. I just get on a kick sometimes and cant stop.
just my 2cents

I think it would be nice for us who enjoy a very fine smoke to be able to grow personal batches and never waste another $ on a dealer. I think that it'd be nice to think that my years of school wont be rendered usless when I catch a felony for s pot plant. Woop d doo. a plant can make me unable to ever get a job in the field I got my degree, however,I risk this because I stand for what it right. I think pot is perfectly fine and safe, and in no way should its use or possession ever cause someone to lose a right or freedom just to smoke a joint that has never killed a single person.

specialkayme. bro, not that many people are incarcerated for MJ brother, sorry, been there and didnt meet but one person in prison that was thrown in for MJ. Meth cocaine and Heroin is the main reason for high drug related incarcerations.

amd- the pharmaceutical companies will never let it be legalized bro. MJ can solve so many problems that hurt people, that they would lose billions of dollars.
Like I stated above, lets talk about real issues for just this one time. Then we can go back to being greedy and only giving a fuck about what affects us.

nathenking said:

specialkayme. bro, not that many people are incarcerated for MJ brother, sorry, been there and didnt meet but one person in prison that was thrown in for MJ. Meth cocaine and Heroin is the main reason for high drug related incarcerations.

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Fair enough, I can't say that I have the statistics on hand to dispute this claim, if you have them I would love to read about them. And while I believe that you have never ran into anyone in prison that was doing time for marijuana law violation, I can't exactly say that your testimony is an authority in the subject. Not trying to sound mean, and you probably know more than I do, but I do know that people get locked up for pot. Admitably alot more for meth, cocaine, and heroin, but even if one person gets one day in jail for mj, I think it's a horrible notion to suggest that we keep it illegal so you can pay your rent. No offense, but fuck you, freedom is much more important than your illegal enterprise.

And while most of the people in federal prison are in for drug violations, and the vast majority of those are not marijuana violators, some of them are. Mainly in county jails, local jails, and the like, I would probably bet.

I really think we are arguing sematics here. Tons of people get misdemeanor jail sentences, misdemeanor violations, community service, house arrest, probation, fines, etc. If you are going to even suggest that it's ok for them to get in trouble like that, so that pot can stay out of the main stream, and you can feel better about not 'conforming', or so that you can make a few bucks off some buyer in the streets, then you are just a horrible person that thinks about no one but yourself.

Ok, I really don't think that poorly of you guys, I'm just saying.

No offense intended. Sorry if it seems like that.

nathenking said:

specialkayme. bro, not that many people are incarcerated for MJ brother, sorry, been there and didnt meet but one person in prison that was thrown in for MJ. Meth cocaine and Heroin is the main reason for high drug related incarcerations.

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Although your the man, and i completely agree with what you said in your 1st post, i gotta disagree with you on this one. There are more nonviolent drug offenders in jail than anything else in our country. And most of the drug offenders are pot smokers. This is another reason why i am FOR decriminialization. Because if it were decriminalized, 30% of our jail systems would be empty, freeing space up for your friendly neighborhood wife beater, or rapist, or kiddie fiddler. If we decriminalized pot, i think that would actually be a good thing, BUT, i am against legalization. I think there is my definitive answer on this topic.

FOR decriminalization of marijuana. AGAINST outright legalization. And i think thats where alot of us stand, because it allows us to smoke and grow in peace, but it also prevents big brother from stickin his hand up our cultures ass too deeply. They cant market anything because its not legal, and they cant bust us because its not completely Illegal. I think thats a perfect medium for where johnny potsmoker wants to be.


Spesh Kay --- If you go and watch "American Drug War" on showtime on demand, they do have the official statistics of non violent drug offenders who are wrongfully imprisoned - namely potsmokers. Its sickening that there are more potsmokers jailed than there are murderers on a yearly basis. check that shit out, and think about it man.

K1Ng5p4d3 said:

FOR decriminalization of marijuana. AGAINST outright legalization.

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Interesting King, I think that's the most sense you have made yet (at least in this post, in nearly all of the others your opinions seem to be on point).

But wouldn't the total decriminalization inevitably lead to legalization? If not only theoretically, but by definition of the term?

Where would be a middle ground then?

Personally I like where Colorado and Alaska have gone with their laws. Colorado has it legal that you can carry up to (not too sure about this) 2 oz. Alaskan courts have confirmed that growing up to 25 plants in your own home is protected as privacy under their constitution.

K1Ng5p4d3 said:

Spesh Kay --- If you go and watch "American Drug War" on showtime on demand, they do have the official statistics of non violent drug offenders who are wrongfully imprisoned - namely potsmokers. Its sickening that there are more potsmokers jailed than there are murderers on a yearly basis. check that shit out, and think about it man.

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Yeah, I had to watch it for a class. Really was very interesting.

When I said I didn't have the statistics on hand, I meant physically in front of me. I was too lazy to look them up, even though I knew where to find them.

Hmm probly not but hey i live in BC i get caught growing and they pretty much take your stuff and give you a ticket oo

i think that it is legal enough as it is
in california that is

i do not want it to be any more legalized, or tolerated than it already is.
they would regulate the THC levels in the bud making every kind the same.
there would be no dank
and
they would tax it