So CA will have a ballot proposition legalizing marijuana which will probably get a lot of traditionally-non-voters (especially 18-22 year olds) to get fired up and come to vote this November. Could swing a few close races in CA because of it.



So what do you think the Dems will do in other states to gin up young voters again in 2012 to come out and re-elect Obama and take back some close seats they lose in this election?



Maybe Dems in states like Colorado, Florida, Washington and others might try to put propositions on the 2012 ballots to get more likely-Dem supporting voters to come out again.



So marijuana might be Obama's best chance of getting re-elected?

you'd have to be using A LOT of marijuana to think that's a good idea.

Might backfire on them. Many of the Repubs I know are tired of the drug war, and would vote for marijuana decriminalization & Mitt Romney (Or however wins the nomination.)

You mean like the GOP using gay marriage at the midterm elections. Move along. Nothing to see here. They all suxs

Rather poetic, don't you think?

Voter Turn out will definately be "high" in California due to Prop19.

Marijuana is not just a Dem drug.  I know more than a few Republicans who smoke the reefer.  I know a shit ton more who are sick and tired of the Drug War.  

Drug War Fatigue

I hope those filthy drunks ... oh wait, wrong era.

I and some of the family just took a little vacation in Colorado with a relative with back and leg pain who has a license to buy/grow marijuana.  He and his wife are great people, conservative, very intelligent, and he basically makes it his mission in life to help people if they need it.  I really don't think that the majority of people who enjoy marijuana are liberals.  They're just regular people who enjoy a puff just like people enjoy a nice shot of bourbon or a glass of wine.  Heck, I'd think that most people who believe that marijuana should be legalized are more libertarian, which is close to conservative.

He also told us that the CO governer (who is way down in the polls) said that "1/3rd of people getting a license actually are legitimate, 1/3rd are just old people with old people pain, and 1/3rd are fakers."  Well, why in the hell shouldn't old people with old people pain not be allowed?  Second, top government officials should NEVER pull numbers out of their ass.  Third, I really don't give a crap if 1/3rd of people are fakers.  Marijuana is better and safer than alcohol in every way.  If either of the two should be made illegal, it should be alcohol FIRST.  And that was tried, and we all know what became of it.

Oh, and for those who argue, "drug crime in states where you can get a license to buy marijuana hasn't gone down," start using your brain.  The only thing legalized is MARIJUANA, not drugs in general.  Also, marijuana still isn't LEGAL.  You have to get a license for it, and you can't share or sell it.  It's also quite expensive.  Until you can buy marijuana at a gas station without a license, it will continue to be a black-market item, and crime is always part of the black market.

In college I had a chance to try it.  Only once, because I wasn't about to go looking for it and get in trouble.  But the opportunity came up, so I tried it so that I could see what the big deal was.  I did one single puff, and got to the point where I could not follow the movie we were watching.  It was an interesting experience, but not all that much different than getting drunk.  It wore off in a few hours just like alcohol, and I was completely normal.  It was a better, cleaner feeling than being drunk, and there were no unpleasant aftereffects.  As I said before, if ANYTHING should be banned (and it shouldn't), it should be alcohol, not marijuana.

Using a gateway drug to get votes is a sure way to head into the gates of hell quickly.

Stoners.They'll have a hard time making it to the ballot on the right day and during the allotted voting time period. They are their own worst enemy. Self-defeating idea...

Gateway Drug = cop killer bullets.


Stupid terms used to sensationalize things.

Precicely.  Marijuana is no more a gateway drug than alcohol.  Can anyone give me any MEANINGFUL difference between MJ and alcohol?

Your post remindes me of the Simpsons Marijuana episode.   (Homer Simpson) "Oh man they already voted and we lost I can't believe we spaced on the date". (Homer Simpson)

People who do MJ are no more stoners than people who enjoy alcohol are drunks.  If you're drunk all day and can't fulfill your daily obligations, you're a drunk.  If you do pot heavily all day so that you aren't able to fulfill your daily obligations, you're a stoner.  If you just use either one for fun every once in a while, or every evening, etc., there's no problem.

"Oh, Man! That vote was yesterday?!?, Oh Dude, I like totally missed it... Lost by only 2 votes? Oh, man!"

Bummer, baby.

I CAN I CAN.  Alcohol is more addictive, leads to more violent crime, is involved in more accidents and kills more people every year than marijuana ever has or ever will.

What do I win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I knew a guy who smoked pot, than he blew his head off when stoned, he was married with 2 kids.

You are partially correct.

Marijuana is a gateway drug in the same manner as alcohol. Increased at risk behavior while under the influence.

It has one other gateway mechanism not shared by alcohol though. Access. When you buy booze at 7/11 the clerk doesnt offer you oxycontin, meth, cocaine, heroin, xanax ect. Prohibiting unlicensed sales and going to regulated sales in licensed businesses would help with this half of the problem.

Marijuana is a gateway to Doritos and too many hours spent playing Golden Eye.

Yes, there's that . . .

Yep, yet another reason to legalize it.

It seems that every single problem that people have with MJ can directly be associated with its current illegality.

What!? This could turn California over to the Dems in Congress?



FUCK!!

It wouldnt be "legalized" in the scenario i described. It would be heavily regulated, like alcohol and tobacco. Legal is the absence of regulation.

Really I know of maybe a hundred (that I have personally seen or had to deal with) suicides and alcohol related deaths caused by drinking.  Go to any ER in the country and ask them what causes more injuries and deaths Marijuana or Alcohol.  

I have seen a shit ton of suicides in the Army that were helped along by Alcohol.  As an EMT, nurse and combat medic I can tell you from experience what substance out of the two is way more dangerous to use and it isn't Mary Jane.

That's what I mean, legal like tobacco and alcohol.  How many black markets are there for alcohol and tobacco?  Not many.

I knew this guy who took a test and jumped off a bridge.  So what?

Alcohol makes the government a lot of money, and marijuana costs the government a lot of money.

they will be to stoned to vote

Simple-minded post is simple-minded.

who is talking about legalizing alcohol?

There was a time in my life long ago that Doritos and n64 Golden Eye were the center of my life....and strippers...and pizza.....damn why did I have to get old and un-fun.



For the record, I live in one of the best spots on the planet earth to grow the reefer, and if it becomes legal I plan to grow the shit out of it on some extra land I own. Also for the record I have no MJ growing or do I possess any of the base materials needed to start growing said plant.

you could go to a meeting of Baptist church elders in 1952 and get more enlightened views on reefer than what you find on arfcom.

marijuana is a "gateway drug" but booze isn't?

americans smoke 24 MILLION POUNDS of pot every year.

24 MILLION POUNDS

if reefer was a gateway drug, our society would have imploded around 1967 or so

As long as we're playing 'up your anecdote'...

My uncle was shot and killed by a drunk.  Stoners never killed anyone in my family.

A few.

Diversion to the underaged crowd.
Smuggling from low tax states to high tax states.
Hijacking of shipments for blackmarket resale .

He's talking about cigarettes, not alcohol.



Doncha know that most people who do hard drugs start off trying cigarettes first?









 

Fixed that for you.



 

You to drunk to speel write?

i knew a guy who came home to find his hugely obese GF in bed with another guy so he went into the next room and shot himself in the chest

Fatties... they can KILL

 

My last suicide attempt was a 28yo female under the combined influence of marijuana, wine and prozac. No drug is abused in a vacume. Polydrug use is the norm.

The only issue that I have is that a single dose of alcohol (can of beer / glass of wine / shot of liquor) or even two doses, is generally not sufficient to cause intoxication.  

While I have no first-hand experience with mj, I would assume that a single dose is enough to cause intoxication.

Regulating the dose / cigarette could fix that.

As I mentioned in my first post, the one time I tried MJ, I took one single puff, and I may as well have gulped down five or six shots of liquor.  I could not follow the plot of Mean Girls, which was the movie that was on at the host's house.

yes... booze is probably worse for you than pot.

Well, apparently you can't OD on MJ, and you don't get a hangover either.

Hey they have this new movie called Reefer Madness. I think you'd like it, it's full of actual facts.

I know "stoners". Funny thing is they can get up at 6am to there corporate job, make 6 figure salaries, come home, smoke a bowl and go do it all over again the next day. I also know drunks who can barley keep a wherehouse job because they are always hung over. Sooooooooo..............

 

Why the eye rolling?

Is she hot? Do you have a number? she sounds wild...

Wait...why were you watching Mean Girls?

Were you...drunk!?!