Generic 3.23.09 blog post
March 23rd, 2009So, March 23rd, 2009 started off for me witnessing a car crash. On the way to work, one stupid commuter thought she was invincible and everyone else was in her way to get to work (yet another person who can’t manage her time but it’s everyone else’s fault she’s late).
So what does she do? Rear ends the car in front of her. Great. Now not only is she going to be late for work fo shizzle, she also made someone else late to work as well.
People in cars too often think they’re invincible, inside their stupid steel boxes. Cars every year kill 40k+ Americans, pollute the world, and if you believe Al Gore, are going to be the death of us all, yet it’s always gunowners who yuppies protest against. Go figure.
Anyways, someone mentioned that everyone’s criticizing what Obama’s doing but nobody’s got a solution to get this economy jumpstarted. Then one co-worker blurted out “legalize pot.”
I actually agree with her. Legalize marijuana outright. None of this medical marijuana crap, legalize it to everyone over 17 with an ID and tax it. Imagine the tax revenue. Imagine how much less crime we’d have. Imagine how much more mellow some of the assholes on the morning commute would be.
OK, that last one, I’m joking. Don’t drive on pot. The thing is, you don’t even need to say that. Stoners know when they can’t drive. Drunks don’t. Drunks kill people.
Then one guy blurted out how anti-pot he is because his stupid cousin is proof that marijuana is bad for you. He’s addicted to pot. Turns out, his pot addiction is the LEAST of his problems, as you probably already guessed. People who are addicted to pot have more serious issues.
No, I am not suggesting everyone go out and smoke pot. I’m just saying legalize it because 70 million Americans each year smoke it, yet the US Government is getting ZERO tax revenue from it (besides sales tax for Doritos). Would be a step in the right direction at least to get this economy jumpstarted.
Back to Obama, he needs to pray for a nanotechnology revolution or biotech. He’ll need those industries to take off to get us out of this recession. This Keynesian crap isn’t going to work. It’s just going to devalue our dollar in the long run.
Speaking of devaluation, buy handguns for every adult in your family. And if you’re having problems getting to work on time, I got a revolutionary new idea that no one has ever thought of before - leave on time.
Leave 10 minutes early. Woo hoo!
And just when I decided to give up smoking pot. Thanks!
ack i have been rear ended twice and have the neck damage to live with as a result. not fun.
I’ve been rear ended once and am still seeing a chiropractor. Well, I’m sure the wrestling and the football and the two concussions didn’t help either.
As for pot, been around pretty much every illegal drug out there. Pot heads don’t start fights, so I have no problem with them.
And Kate, I know how you are with time.
Wait… a Libertarian arguing for MORE taxes?? What’s wrong with you? :p
I actually agree - not only would it allow tax revenues, it would decrease the power of the drug cartels and also open the drug up to FDA funded research into its benefits as a pain management tool for cancer patients and a treatment for MS symptoms.
Laura - Drug dealers don’t pay taxes. If I have to pay them, they should too.
Completely agreed about the criminal aspect, and yes, marijuana does have possible health benefits. It saves people’s lives doing chemotherapy too.
HI ZS. Jeff has seen many car crashes like this one on his run. Esp people coming off the ramps to get on the free way. A few people have almost clipped his truck because they think they can get in between him and the road.
I’ve been hearing the same legalize-and-tax pot suggestion a lot lately. But then I guess I was hearing it a lot even before our current economic crisis…
Not a bad idea. It would free up the huge numbers of police who are dedicated almost full-time to busting tiny grow ops, and I’m sure some enterprising scientist could develop a breathalyzer for pot.
ZS, I so had you beat on this ;). Check out my post from Feb 28th, I’m pasting it on here:
Ok I know this may stun some of you but when it comes to issues such as drug legislation I lean libertarian, some would say even (gasp) liberal but I perfer libertarian. It’s the only thing out there that I think should be taxed massively and no I’m NOT talking about prescription drugs I’m talking the street stuff. I would be all for legalization of marijuana and possibly looking into some other hard drugs. Here’s the beauty of CA’s legislation, they would just put on I believe a $50 per ounce tax per unit sold, of course regulating this could be a bitch and cause more government but I figure the DEA’s pot arm can go from busting people to regulating them, not to mention all the sentences that would be commuted. To think in the future the only way a pot dealer gets dragged in front of a judge is for tax evasion not ownership with intent to sell an illegal substance. Talk about irony. And I didn’t even know this but apparently dope is CA’s #1 cash crop as pointed out below
Marijuana is California’s largest cash crop. It’s valued at $14 billion annually, or nearly twice the value of the state’s grape and vegetable crops combined, according to government statistics. Indeed, a recent report pegged marijuana as two-thirds of the economy of Mendocino County, a ganja hotbed north of San Francisco. That’s not surprising—it costs $400 to grow a pound of pot that can sell for $6,000 on the street.
you can find the rest of that article here and all you have to do is google “California to try to legalize pot in 2009″ and you’ll get about 928,000 hits. People we have a national debt that for all practical purposes is anywhere between $10-30 trillion depending on what numbers you want to believe. Tobacco and alcohol are legal and marijuana was until 1937. Alcohol was banned in 1920 (I think?) and then that act was repealed about 15 years later. 72 years after marijuana was made illegal by the feds has the problem gotten better or worse? For all you D.A.R.E turds out there get a fucking clue, kids will smoke drink and do weed if they REALLY want to, the best thing to do is inform them so they know how to deal with it and the long-term consequences. But just like with sex, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO SOME KIDS WILL TRY IT, YOU CANNOT STOP THE CURIOSITY OF PRETEENS AND TEENS IN THIS COUNTRY (and world for that matter). This goes as much to MADD as it does to the idiots on my side who still believe the “war on drugs” is worth fighting. Face it people we lost, and if you can’t beat em join em. Lord knows we need the tax revenue, and whose to say we can’t add another 100% tax on to the stuff every 2-3 years. By then there could be huge companies maunfacturing the stuff and it could be sold in stores right along side those evil, evil, tobacco products. I know there is a slippery slope arguement to be made here but I don’t give a fuck. Besides what happened to personal responsibilty? Governments job is not to protect you from yourself despite what some politicians may tell you.
We could balance the budget by 2035-2040 if this passes and is put to good use. The Obama administration even took the first step today by stopping federal drug raids of known pot houses, they are leaving it up to the states. After fucking our economy over along with me and my kids its nice to see them do SOMETHING right for once.
Tweety - Yeah. I hate how so many people can’t figure out how to merge.
SME - Well, people who are stoned are very easy to spot. Slow reflexes, bloodshot eyes, talked like they’re stoned. Probably won’t even need a breathalyzer.
But yeah, police can do what they should be doing in the first place - find rapists and murderers.
Ben - Awesome. And totally agree with the statement in caps. They will try it, but it’s not that bad. There’s a HUGE difference between people who experiment with pot and violent criminals. HUGE. I could care less if people experiment with pot. I want cops to bust rapists and murderers, not pot smokers.
And yeah, government shouldn’t be in the business of protecting you from yourself.