MJ in the D, legalization may be on november ballot

[Traxus]

California goes all in, Detroit Antes up:

http://freep.com/article/20100506/NEWS05/5060418/

[Django]

Wow, I had no idea this was coming up.

I was just talking tonight with a friend who lives in Oakland Cali and he mentioned they are trying to fully legalize it out there. They already have schools out there that teach every aspect of growing and how to start a business selling pot. Cooking classes, business classes, everything. Its actually called Oaksterdam as in Oakland and Amsterdam.

Its about time. If we can pass this, Michigan might have a future. I would much rather see ppl using pot on a regular basis than vodka.

[sumas]

Django, I fully support legalization of pot and would consider growing it as a cash crop if legal, taxed and liscenced. Sorry though, Vodka is my poison of choice.

[DetroitDad]

I can't support drug use in excess. Everything we do needs to be done in moderation, but I think our resources will be better spent on violent crimes, and legalizing such things could provide the needed sin tax revenue for things that make our communities better places that are worth caring about. It's all about compromise.

[Russix]

I can't support drug use in excess. Everything we do needs to be done in moderation, but I think our resources will be better spent on violent crimes, and legalizing such things could provide the needed sin tax revenue for things that make our communities better places that are worth caring about. It's all about compromise.

Thats that beauty of pot, excessive abuse of the substance has a fraction of the consequences of alcohol. People usually get bored of it and grow out of it before they end up with something thats legally considered an illness, alcoholism.

[Ray1936]

Yeah, yeah. Make tobacco a criminal offense, like you have. Then legalize maryjane. You liberals are really wackos, you know.

[Gistok]

Yeah, yeah. Make tobacco a criminal offense, like you have. Then legalize maryjane. You liberals are really wackos, you know.

Or... they could lower the pensions of city retirees and build more jails with the money!

[n7hn]

pass it and Im there...... wooo hoooo ....Its one of the reasons Im leery to leave cali......as i need IT for my illnesses......

[Jimaz]

Now there's a use for urban prairies right there. If this builds steam beyond 1-ounce quantities it could become a big part of that new diversified economy for which everyone's been searching. Imagine Detroit holding a local monopoly on that market. Cha-CHING!

[mikefmich]

I can't support drug use in excess. Everything we do needs to be done in moderation, but I think our resources will be better spent on violent crimes, and legalizing such things could provide the needed sin tax revenue for things that make our communities better places that are worth caring about. It's all about compromise.

Just like society has done with moderate alchohol, right?

[terryh]

Yeah, yeah. Make tobacco a criminal offense, like you have. Then legalize maryjane. You liberals are really wackos, you know.

Actually Ray, I know individuals who classify themselves as conservatives for the most part, but agree with decriminalizing Marijuana...tobacco is not illegal..it is now illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants...

[detmsp]

Here's a crazy idea.... Let's legalize pot, tax it, and take a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars used for the "war on drugs" and use it to fund drug education programs in schools and treatment centers.

[terryh]

I dont think the church base, which I believe I would be correct in writing, is very influential and powerful,and will ultimately block any attempt to legalize mother nature?

[terryh]

You know I never cared for the stuff but would much rather congregate with weed smokers than alcohol abusers who tend to behave in a much more disagreeable manner.

[Gistok]

You know I never cared for the stuff but would much rather congregate with weed smokers than alcohol abusers who tend to behave in a much more disagreeable manner.

Also look at the side benefit.... Better Made Chips/snack food sales would also benefit... thus helping the local economy!!

[Django]

Now there's a use for urban prairies right there. If this builds steam beyond 1-ounce quantities it could become a big part of that new diversified economy for which everyone's been searching. Imagine Detroit holding a local monopoly on that market. Cha-CHING!

Exactamundo. Getting in on the ground floor of this inevitable change before every other state has could mean a lot for Michigan. Its going to be like the casinos without the addiction. Once one state finds a way to make money on it every state is going to try and make that crazy Vegas money. If we jump on board we could be to California what Atlantic City is to Vegas. I know thats a disgusting parallel but its the first that comes to mind and easiest to relate to.

20 yrs ago when I first started smoking I said that this would eventually happen, legalization that is [[Im so smart). The government could only hold up the smokescreen for so long. I love the idea of urban prairies full of stinky bright green and purple flowers. It would have to be behind fence no doubt but way better than nothin. Im not a smoker anymore but I still love that smell of quality unfired dumbass.

Im not sure how much hemp needs to be grown for a small business to turn it into one of the many uses it has. I believe Henry Ford was experimenting with making car bumpers out of hemp among other things.

Yesterday in fact I found out Jack Herer had died last month. He wrote a fascinating book called The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Its all about the plight of the marijuana plant and its criminalization starting in the 20s when the DuPont company saw hemp as a threat to their new plastics industry. They were successful in getting pot made illegal so that they could go on and make billions upon billions of throw away plastics. The hemp of course being its rival is biodegradable but was deemed a dangerous drug all because it made ppl kill and rape while under its unpredictable influence.

I was really sad to hear Jack Herer had passed. Back in about 1992 I was all starstruck an bugeyed one gorgeous sunny day in Eugene Oregon at a Grateful Dead show when I stumbled upon Jack. We burned one in his bus and he taught me about the importance of curing your herbs correctly.

Heres a link to the first chapter of the book The Emperor Wears No Clothes.
http://www.jackherer.com/chapter01.html

[jerrytimes]

Pot is not a "drug" like most people think. It's natural. Drugs are made of chemicals. The government just likes to call it a drug so they can throw people in jail that are in possession of a plant.

[Russix]

Now there's a use for urban prairies right there. If this builds steam beyond 1-ounce quantities it could become a big part of that new diversified economy for which everyone's been searching. Imagine Detroit holding a local monopoly on that market. Cha-CHING!

The economic benefit of recreational or medicinal use is a drop in the bucket compared to the industrial reward for cultivating hemp. Hemp does not produce the same effect when smoked. It can however produce 11.5 tons of biomass fuel on acre of land in four months. You might be able to get 2 crops a season here, so 23 tons per acre per year. Since Detroit has 35,840 acres of empty land, we could be producing 824,320 tons of biomass fuel a year in just Detroit alone on land that is generally regarded as unfit for food production. Using the latest technology you can produce about 100 gallons of ethanol [[E85) fuel per ton which would equal about 82,432,000 gallons of fuel. This may seem insignificant compared to the average US consumption of 375 million gallons of fuel per day, but this influx of cheap fuel[[with taxes, about $1.25) in to SE Michigan would provide us with cheap, clean, and a sustainable energy forever.

Since I’ve been researching this, I’ve learned that my car can easily be converted to run on E85. You can’t have any rubber fuel lines[[which I don’t, all steel). And once you start burning E85 you have to richen the fuel mixture and maybe adjust your timing. I’m lucky to have a car that’s old enough to have MFI[[Mechanical Fuel Injection, something that came between the Carburetor and modern day EFI) which fuel enrichment is a twist of a screw. On newer cars you can buy a device that connects in between the fuel injector signal wires that will richen the fuel flow. The point I’m trying to make is, that you don’t have to go out and buy a new car to reap the benefit of industrial hemp farming in Detroit.

[Jimaz]

Exactamundo. Getting in on the ground floor of this inevitable change before every other state has could mean a lot for Michigan. Its going to be like the casinos without the addiction. Once one state finds a way to make money on it every state is going to try and make that crazy Vegas money. If we jump on board we could be to California what Atlantic City is to Vegas.

And who deserves it [[and needs it) more than Detroit? It's going to be an [[Acapulco ) Gold Rush and whoever sticks their toe in the pool first will get the biggest share.

[Blarf]

I dont think the church base, which I believe I would be correct in writing, is very influential and powerful,and will ultimately block any attempt to legalize mother nature?

Church people are nuts. Just ask them if they think Jesus would want to lock someone up for smoking a plant that grows naturally upon this planet, and see what crazy ass response you get.

[Alex Martin]

I do hope those church people vote against it. I will. The last thing Detroit needs is a lot of doped up people. Everyone who wants to encourage kids to read, what do you think? If the community wants to see the next Martin Luther King, then we don't need kids coming home from school, lighting up, and waking up one day when they're 30.

Marijuana is natural? So what? Snake poison is natural too. And what are all those drug dealers gonna do? The people who supply them will simply switch to marketing the "better" stuff. Oh yeah. Be careful what you wish for.



AM

[Russix]

I do hope those church people vote against it. I will. The last thing Detroit needs is a lot of doped up people. Everyone who wants to encourage kids to read, what do you think? If the community wants to see the next Martin Luther King, then we don't need kids coming home from school, lighting up, and waking up one day when they're 30.

Marijuana is natural? So what? Snake poison is natural too. And what are all those drug dealers gonna do? The people who supply them will simply switch to marketing the "better" stuff. Oh yeah. Be careful what you wish for.



AM

Are you freaking high? The law would require you to be 21 to be excused from the normal penalties associate from being in possession of 1 oz or less in your own home.

[Whitehouse]

The topic title was puzzling me for a while. Michael Jackson in Detroit?

[Blarf]

I do hope those church people vote against it. I will. The last thing Detroit needs is a lot of doped up people. Everyone who wants to encourage kids to read, what do you think? If the community wants to see the next Martin Luther King, then we don't need kids coming home from school, lighting up, and waking up one day when they're 30.

Marijuana is natural? So what? Snake poison is natural too. And what are all those drug dealers gonna do? The people who supply them will simply switch to marketing the "better" stuff. Oh yeah. Be careful what you wish for.



AM

Prohibition works so well, doesn't it? I'm so glad it nearly impossible to find weed......

If you're so concerned about "the kids", then you would be in favor of legalizing and controlling it. They don't check for I.D on the black market.

[Django]

Alex, your doing this for fun right? just to stir up the pot[[no pun)

No one wants to see kids smokin a blunt before first bell. When its illegal though they have the opportunity to market and sell it. It needs to be taken off the streets and regulated, as far as I'm concerned all drugs need to handled this way.

Give it some thought man.