Does anyone know if Barney Franks proposition to decriminalize weed at the federal level (making it a states issue) is getting any traction?

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"It is better to travel well than to arrive. -Buddha"

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2943

saddly thus far it has the same amount of cosponsors as last year's bill...so far...i guess we should pray

Thanx for the link. I was hoping that with Obama in office, it might get more support. I am so sick and tired of this one aspect of my life making me a 'criminal'. Then there is all the much needed revenue it could provide for states. The whole thing really gets my dander up on a good day, but I know I'm 'preaching to the choir'. I shouldn't be stressing this shit, but I found a moldy bud in my scanty stash and it put me in a bad mood. I just need to blaze up my bubbler, chill, and pray for legalization, lol!

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"It is better to travel well than to arrive. -Buddha"

Do you believe the States should control your body rather than the Federal government?

No. What I do think is that alot more states would have the balls to legalize, or at least decrim if they didn't have the feds breathing down their necks. That would also cut the legs out from under the DEA, leaving enforcment of drug law up to states who don't have the resources to do it themselves all of which would make the world alot safer for growers and tokers. The unconstitutional federal laws on M have got to go before there will be any real progress at the state level, IMO.

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"It is better to travel well than to arrive. -Buddha"

Thank you for responding. I agree getting rid of the Federal Government involvement with weed is good, there involvement is clearly morally wrong and probably illegal too, since the Federal Government wasn't formed for that type of stuff originally.

I'm confused in your earlier post you mention "revenue". Are you in favor of States taxing legalized weed? Should a government force people to buy weed that is taxed? Should other plants be taxed too if I decide to grow them?

How about this? If weed is legal the need for all the enforcement goes away...Fire a shitload of the various brands of cops and defund prisons that house people convicted of victimless crimes of pot posession etc.
Doing that would decrease the need for taxes wouldn't it?

Pretty soon some states may have no choice but to take up this fight. I mean look at California, alot of them already favor legalizing, and their economy is in shambles. But a fight they will have, as the feds, who already rape our wallets wont see a need for California to do this, but they need a cash cow and fast or things are going to get a bit nasty there.

Meanwhile, I think the feds will go no further than calling it a health issue, and that means forced treatment which to me equates to no more than disguised jail time. It still keeps their paid DEA thugs in buisness, and puts a prettier face on the failed war on drugs. Whatever it takes to still make money without offering liberties in return.

Whatever states do, I don't see growing becoming legal sadly, harder to tax us and we know everything is about money, we are their little cash slaves.
But it hasnt stopped us so far and it wont than either. I just get sick to my stomache every time I hear of someone getting put in prison for anything MJ related, people suffer, they profit, all in a days work for a corupt federal government.

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They may take our lights, but they will never take our freesun!

Whether it be revenue from a tax, or revenue saved from prosicuting and jailing growers/tokers it would still be revenue. Just as people can make there own wine, or grow there own veggie gardens and are exempt from taxation (as far as I know, anyway) the smalltime grower would have nothing to worry about. Even taxaton on the large scale grower would be preferable to the current system provided the taxes were for state and local government only and the feds kept their greedy mitts off the $. I am a libertarian, so taxes of any sort, while I see a need for some, chafe at me. To reiterate, though, even taxation by a greedy fed would be preferable to making regular American farmers/citizens in their endeavors to pursue happiness into criminals as per the status quo.

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"It is better to travel well than to arrive. -Buddha"

Um, yeah, if you sell the products of that plant for a profit of course they are taxed.

When you buy fresh vegetables at the market, they are taxed aren't they? When you go to your local nursery and buy a pack of tomato seeds, those are taxed too.

Nobody is proposing a tax on growers who grow for personal use, but if you grow to SELL then obviously there are going to be taxes involved. The consumers pay the tax (sales tax), just like they do on anything else they buy.

I am seeing the tide turning, slowly but surely. People's additude toward MJ as a dangerous drug are evolving as the generation most heavily influenced by such propaganda as 'reefer maddness' ages out of politics and a more rational younger generation takes the reigns and people start asking the obvious question: Why is MJ any different/worse than alcohol or tobacco? I think the stats were that some where between 70-80% of Americans had tried MJ at one time and most are none the worse for wear (unless some stupid pro DEA psychologist convinces them they are addicted to it, which is a whole nother WTF? issue for me, but I digress) and many even benefit from it. The current situation is dispicable, though, and my heart goes out to all you growers/tokers who r just exercising your constitutional rights and suffering b/c of a corupt fed and brainwashed local law enforcement.

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"It is better to travel well than to arrive. -Buddha"