tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post7202832339196515537..comments2023-10-22T09:18:16.885-04:00Comments on Far and Wide: The Dope On MarijuanaSteve Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-56652929021616317252012-02-01T21:28:12.017-05:002012-02-01T21:28:12.017-05:00I still maintain that the Liberals could elect a p...I still maintain that the Liberals could elect a potted plant as leader and win a landslide with this. I suspect that over 75% of the adult population would support this just on the general belief that pot is not harmful, certainly not to warrant jailing people for using or growing it. All the problems with it are caused by the fact it is illegal. I don't know anyone who doesn't understand that.<br /><br />We are living in a time where the general public is becoming more aware of things that are not usually well understood by the public. Think about how much we are learning about how banking works, the whole fractional reserve system, the fact that extreme austerity makes economies fail because most of the activity in an economy is consumer spending, and that fueled by access to credit and government spending, though within reason. Similarly, few seriously believe the finger wagging about pot that in Reefer Madness times was enough to scare everyone into prohibition.<br /><br />Folks, we have a winner here. This makes the Liberals cool again. Though we have to put up with smirking about hippies, the clear facts that the main beneficiaries of illegal pot are gangsters, and that we're not saving people's lives by keeping it illegal makes the case.<br /><br />Let the CPC be the nanny state party. Remind people which party balanced the budget after the Mulroney years. Show that Liberals are not ideologues with policies in other areas that are both reasonable and innovative.<br /><br />Let the CPC whine about Adscam, which if it is not ancient history about people no longer in the party, then Harper's past statements about making Canada unrecognizable are not ancient history either, and he's still in charge doing it. Especially after another 3 years of his bullying and divisiveness.liberal supporterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01129945625510633921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-70359274620370847772012-02-01T20:04:41.656-05:002012-02-01T20:04:41.656-05:00Yes, some Liberals were angry that motion to suppo...Yes, some Liberals were angry that motion to support the legalization of marijuana garnered the majority of the press. They feel that had this not been a tabled the media would have dealt with more "substantive" motions. <br /><br /><br />Simply put, they are out to lunch. One, the notion that the media would have played more attention to other motions if only the Liberals had not tabled the marijuana motion is wrong. The vast majority of the public has no interest whatsoever in the other motions that were being tabled and it is for this reason they are were ignored by the media. If the other motions had of been newsworthy, the media would have covered them too. The media can walk and chew gum at the same time. Two, the notion the Liberal party should focus its attention only on oh so serious issues, like economy, assumes that the public actually has the capacity to grasp these subjects and wants to only to hear about meat and potatoes issues to exclusion of everything else. This too is plain wrong. The vast majority of the public has little to no capacity to deal, for example, with complex economic issues. They do not have the time, expertise or inclination. Most people find economic related matters hopelessly boring. To cite, but one example it is absurd to think that the public has ability to understand why an income tax cut is more efficient than a cut to the GST. It is also one reason why the Green Shift went down like a led zeppelin. An entirely drab platform, dealing only with oh so serious issues, will draw the attention of no one. The Liberals need to spice things up and a promise to legalize marijuana does just that. Three, marijuana legalization is very much a substantive issue. Turn on the news. Drug profits are feeding low grade civil wars in a whole whack of countries. Having spent some time in South American, I can guarantee you that if Canada were to legalize marijuana it would be all over the news down there. In fact, there is not single issue that will come anywhere close to drawing as much international press. Take the amount of international press the SSM issue drew and magnify it 1000 fold. Canadians loved being "cool" and a legalizing pot would certainly make us cool again. Domestically, the only type of crime in Canada that is on the rise in Canada is drug related. The number of gang hits, for example, has more than doubled over the last decade just all other types of homicides have plummeted.Kobyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03407275645274060038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-24814706216608188602012-02-01T10:24:20.039-05:002012-02-01T10:24:20.039-05:00Agreed, there are issues with the Americans, altho...Agreed, there are issues with the Americans, although support for legalization is on the rise, and some border states have progressive policies.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-31156624597489541112012-02-01T10:22:12.274-05:002012-02-01T10:22:12.274-05:00Very well put. There is no real downside to the p...Very well put. There is no real downside to the proposal if it is presented as you state. The only issue would be enormous pressure from south of the border.Alisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15641749905366773044noreply@blogger.com