Is America ready?

[GarethSE]

People get violently drunk and harm others all the time, but I have yet to see someone violently stoned, hahaha.

Drink:
"HEY BUDDY, FUCK YOU!"
"FUCK YOU BUDDY!
*beats the shit out of each other*

Weed:
"Hey BUDDY! >:{"
"Heyyy"
"hey mann"

say what you want about stoners being lazy, ive never met a violent one.

 

[jet_dry]

+1 vote for yes. I've witnessed many a drunk fight, but the most violent thing I've ever seen a stoner do was massacre a plate of perogies.

 

[colonel kurtz]

of course logic dictates that marijuana should be legal

but no, the american public is unfortunately not ready for it

give it 10-15 years, until a good portion of the current elderly population dies off, and we'll be good to go

 

[Ohmission]

of course logic dictates that marijuana should be legal

but no, the american public is unfortunately not ready for it

give it 10-15 years, until a good portion of the current elderly population dies off, and we'll be good to go

I largely agree, but I will say if younger voters between 18-25 didn't have such a low rate of turnout it would be a pretty strong battle. If young voters weren't so apathetic and decided to vote consistently things would be a bit different. The shit should be legal. Bottom line.

Cheers,
George.

 

[Melb_shredder]

Personally, I hate drugs in general... But if you're going to be a corporate cunt and a shit government, to let cigarettes be legal after all the obvious harm they do...

I say 100% go the fucking sweet Mary Jane!

 

[JeffTD]

I largely agree, but I will say if younger voters between 18-25 didn't have such a low rate of turnout it would be a pretty strong battle. If young voters weren't so apathetic and decided to vote consistently things would be a bit different. The shit should be legal. Bottom line.

This is a vicious cycle... the younger demographic has more shit going on like school, trying to get a job, partying, trying to get laid, figuring out wtf is going on with the rest of their life, etc. They don't vote. Politicians don't cater to their needs since it won't help them get elected, and then the 18-25 year olds bitch and moan about not being cared about, so they just don't vote again.

The other problem is that not enough people vote in general. Or rather, not enough people inform themselves and vote responsibly. What sickens me the most is that while presidential elections get a whopping 60% turnout on average, congressional elections, which are most definitely more important as far as getting shit done and laws passed, see a 35% turnout, at best.

Combine that with state elections and then stupid shit like California's ballot initiative propositions, and you've got a political system that doesn't cater to the general populace.

 

[colonel kurtz]

seriously though, if there was a ballot initiative out there to fully legalize marijuana in any given state, you know it would drive turnouts to record levels, especially with youth voters

but...again...most of those in those country who are 50+ years old, and a good portion of the younger conservative crowd, frown upon marijuana use, and will still vote no against it. it's really going to come down to getting to the point where the retiree population is made up of all those ex-hippie baby boomers, many of whom still sneak a toke when they can...hell i saw an article just the other day saying that marijuana use in people who are 50+ has tripled in the last 5-6 years!

 

[JeffTD]

seriously though, if there was a ballot initiative out there to fully legalize marijuana in any given state, you know it would drive turnouts to record levels, especially with youth voters

but...again...most of those in those country who are 50+ years old, and a good portion of the younger conservative crowd, frown upon marijuana use, and will still vote no against it. it's really going to come down to getting to the point where the retiree population is made up of all those ex-hippie baby boomers, many of whom still sneak a toke when they can...hell i saw an article just the other day saying that marijuana use in people who are 50+ has tripled in the last 5-6 years!

A reincarnation of Prop 215 is expected to be on the Nov 2nd ballot this year... but the legalization of it in CA presents some funny situations.

As soon as someone registers to be a legal reseller of marijuana (aka when it gets taxed), they're violating federal law, and the DEA can just use the forms they signed when registering to incriminate them. The counter-argument would be that the federal government doesn't do much about current medical marijuana facilities, and enough states legalizing it would sway the federal ruling on it's legality, but I'm not confident that would work.

Gay marriage wasn't even legalized in CA in 2008 - I don't think marijuana will be in 2010. Young people came out in record numbers to vote for Obama/Prop 8 (in CA), and while the presidential election was as close as most usually are, Prop 8 was still overturned (thanks Mormons!). I honestly think there's less people into legalizing pot than are into gay marriage rights, even in this state of fruits and nuts.

But none of this changes the fact that ballot initiative propositions and direct democracy is the single worst thing that's ever happened to CA legislature.

 

[Ohmission]

Sad but true. I agree that the cycle is circular. It runs off momentum and no one is willing to really rock the fucking pendulum. Still even getting this to a vote would be a step forward. In Seattle there is a large push for putting legalization on the ballot. I doubt even if it gets on it will pass, but it brings public awareness and makes people at least think about the issue. If people could bring this to a ballot for 10 years straight I have a feeling it would get some goddamn inertia.

Cheers,
George.

 

[John_C]

What sickens me the most is that while presidential elections get a whopping 60% turnout on average, congressional elections, which are most definitely more important as far as getting shit done and laws passed, see a 35% turnout, at best.

I might be wrong here, but is the mass hysteria about politicians and elections unique to the US, at least compared to in EU?

If an aspiring politician gives a speech here, the press turns up and most people will see it on tv at some point over the 24 hours, no-one goes "oh, i love him! He's fantastic" and goes and cheers them on. All in all the American presidential elections seem to be almost pure personality contests, at least as far as a lot of voters are concerned.

This isn't to say we don't have our own set of problems with low turnouts etc.

 

[SocialNumb]

Yes
9,508 votes

No
179 votes

 

[JeffTD]

I might be wrong here, but is the mass hysteria about politicians and elections unique to the US, at least compared to in EU?

If an aspiring politician gives a speech here, the press turns up and most people will see it on tv at some point over the 24 hours, no-one goes "oh, i love him! He's fantastic" and goes and cheers them on. All in all the American presidential elections seem to be almost pure personality contests, at least as far as a lot of voters are concerned.

This isn't to say we don't have our own set of problems with low turnouts etc.

You know, it is a bit of a popularity/charisma contest - look at JFK and Obama, for instance.

That said, we also have this weird concept of 'directly' electing our president, rather than voting for a party and having them elect an official.

It's not as dire as you'd think, thank god - the people who get up in arms in a frenzy about loving a politician are usually also the ones who will conveniently forget to vote on Nov 2nd, and are (in my hopeful mind, at least) outweighed by the people who actually vote based on the issue, and not party allegiances/personal feelings towards the candidate.

THAT said, not necessarily an incredibly bad thing when it happens... Congress has most of the power, and the US President tends to be a bit of a figurehead, so it's nice to have someone charismatic and well-liked just as a person. Not to say that should outweigh his qualifications or his stance on issues, but it's definitely good for PR (and god knows we need that right now)!

Sad but true. I agree that the cycle is circular. It runs off momentum and no one is willing to really rock the fucking pendulum. Still even getting this to a vote would be a step forward. In Seattle there is a large push for putting legalization on the ballot. I doubt even if it gets on it will pass, but it brings public awareness and makes people at least think about the issue. If people could bring this to a ballot for 10 years straight I have a feeling it would get some goddamn inertia.

Totally, I'm glad props like this one and 8 have made it onto the ballot in CA, despite my disdain for ballot initiative props, since it means we're finally starting to move forward, rather than just standing still.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

seriously though, if there was a ballot initiative out there to fully legalize marijuana in any given state, you know it would drive turnouts to record levels, especially with youth voters

you bet your ass this is true, it happened with the presidential election and prop 8, flocks of high school and college students were turning out to register, I was one of them, 11pm and J street was backed up from all the people trying to get into register within the last hour and it had been backed up and packed since 4am that morning (almost 24 hours straight packed). Something like 40,000 people came out that day alone with somewhere like 60% being all under 25.

I don' think that the Nov. Ballot will be any different. Tons of young voters will come out, and even still, with the polls showing that that majority of California wants weed legalized says something, as even the polls for pro 8 looked in favor of banning same sex marriages from the beginning.

 

[roy22341]

seriously though, if there was a ballot initiative out there to fully legalize marijuana in any given state, you know it would drive turnouts to record levels, especially with youth voters

I can see the headlines now:

"Ballot initiative fails to pass: voters claim they were 'kinda tired' or 'stopped for a snack' instead of voting."

 

[TheWinterSnow]

I can see the headlines now:

"Ballot initiative fails to pass: voters claim they were 'kinda tired' or 'stopped for a snack' instead of voting."

hahaha nice!