George Will: US ‘probably in the process’ of legalizing marijuana

[babsbunny]

http://rawstory.com/2009/10/george-probably-process-legalizing-pot/

By Stephen C. Webster
Sunday, October 25th, 2009 -- 6:34 pm

n the chronicle of America's war against its marijuana users, conservative columnist George Will may have just earned credit for his own Walter Cronkite moment.

Appearing on ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, the Pulitzer-winning journalist and longtime icon of America's political right declared that with President Barack Obama's new policy which respects the states right to allow medical marijuana, the United States is "probably in the process now of legalizing marijuana."

[yella_dawg]

1. I agree with George Will. Who woulda thunk it?

Is this supposed to be a bad thing or something?

[Joe the Liberal]

2. I have my doubts.....

we can hardly get health care passed here, legalizing marijuana seems impossible in this political climate. I can already hear the republican screams of socialized weed and the big gubmint trying to put big tobacco out of business, or some other nonsense along those lines.

[AllentownJake]

6. Vermont and other progressive states could legalize it

and the Federal Government could choose to make it a state issue. Kind of like Gay Marriage. There will never be a federal solution on Gay marriage but there maybe a state by state decision.

[notadmblnd]

3. Sounds good to me. Sounds like a start in reinvigorating the economy.

Is reinvigorating a word?

[Kievan Rus]

4. I usually don't agree with him, but I'll make an exception this time

[KamaAina]

5. And this is a bad thing why, exactly?

It'd make a huge dent in rampant prison overcrowding. It'd mean millions fewer people with police records. And then there's all that tax revenue we're missing out on. It's a win-win! :smoke:

[notadmblnd]

8. look at the money it would save employers on drug testing

[shanti]

10. why would it stop them from drug testing?

:shrug:

[notadmblnd]

15. marijuana is the only drug that stays in the system any length of time

the rest pass through the urine within a matter of hours or days and won't show up in a pre-employment urine test if not used on a regular basis. Marijuana attaches itself to fat cells and can stay in the system for more than a month. IMO, pre-employemnt urine testing only weeds out the smokers. Therefore, legalizing pot would eliminate the need for pre-employment drug testing.

[FatDave]

19. Absolutely right.

I'm not sure it would end drug testing, but you're right about weed being the most detectable and for a long time. You could spend friday night speedballing and pass a drug test by monday, but fail it if you've smoked within the past month. Drug testing is bullshit. It only catches the most harmless drug, and is completely unrelated to on-the-job use, which should be the only thing you could be legally fired for. Course, we live in a fucking police state when it comes to drugs.

[shanti]

20. unless, that is

they WANT to weed out the smokers. that was my point.

[notadmblnd]

21. was my point too.

the other point is that if it becomes illegal, then there's no longer any reason to test for it. Thus saving money on pre-employment testing. Weeding out the users then would be discrimination I know that employers currently discriminate against cigarette smokers, however, there's more methods of using pot other than smoking.

[Fumesucker]

7. Too many people on both sides of the law making a fortune from the drug war..

It would be an eminently sensible and logical thing to do, hence I doubt it will ever happen, there are just too many forces heavily invested in the status quo.

And the government is going to admit they've been lying about cannabis for seventy years?

:rofl:

Edited for speling..

[tularetom]

9. I dunno about that

I think it'd be great but the for-profit private prison bidness ain't gonna like it.

They depend on low maintenance laid back no trouble prisoners like potheads to keep the cells full and the cash rolling in.

[AllentownJake]

11. No problem

I'm sure debtor prisons is in the works as a "reform" sooner rather than later.

[Nikki Stone1]

12. Maybe they see great poverty and pain ahead--like Jamaica--and want people sedated

Weed is the opium of the people?? ;)

[Canuckistanian]

13. Wow, George Will is SMOKIN today

First, he says Cheney "should have dithered on the invasion of Iraq".

Now this? He's gonna have to turn in his secret conservative decoder ring for this.

[704wipes]

14. and he called Cheney a 'vampire'

correct?

[Canuckistanian]

17. I think that was Grayson

Will wouldn't go THAT far. But you know he's thinkin' it.

[marmar]

16. And someone please pass George Will a fat one......

..... Is there a more uptight, anal-retentive stuffed shirt on the planet?

[diane in sf]

18. Make it so!

[spanone]

22. after M I L L I O N S of lives have been destroyed

[slackmaster]

23. That's about the size of it

It was banned under false pretenses, and the results of the failed War On (some) Drugs is mass devastation.