Nolan Finley Says: We can't put the genie back in the bong.

[Stosh]

I completely agree with this. Honestly, 32 million dollars in tax revenue would go a long ways in curing what ails us as a state.


We can't put the genie back in the bong


This was as predictable as the sunrise — Michigan voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana, and two years later, no one can seem to decide who's a patient and who's a pothead.
More than 60,000 residents have applied for medical marijuana certificates, the ticket to being able to use pot legally, and even grow small amounts at home; roughly half have received them. Wow, that's a lot of suffering in our state.
Perhaps when voters passed the proposal in 2008 they envisioned cancer and glaucoma patients toking in the restricted confines of hospitals and clinics, and getting sanitized pot in carefully measured doses from licensed pharmacies.
That's not exactly how it's worked out. Therapeutic pot is being marketed about the same way as the everyday let's-get-high-for-the-hell-of-it pot. It's being grown in basements under hot lights and pushed to patients through head shops and person-to-person deals that have the law enforcement community struggling to figure out what's legal and what isn't.



The answer seems to depend on where you live. Oakland County, for example, is busy putting the pot stores out of business and cracking down on the home growers; Ann Arbor has 23 medical marijuana stores that go unmolested by authorities.
And it's not just cops and judges who are confused. Employers have fired medical marijuana patients for failing drug tests, even though the law prohibits that, and landlords have evicted users for violating no-dope clauses in their leases.
You don't have to be struggling with the effects of chemotherapy to qualify for a certificate. The medical marijuana industry has physicians lined up to certify patients with mysterious pains, anxiety and other ailments often visible only to the sufferer. The law isn't very specific on the diseases covered. Chronic headaches can get you approved, and who doesn't have headaches these days?
Kids roam downtown events passing out cards with 800-numbers and websites where you can get certificates. This isn't what voters envisioned, but it's what they've got now, and putting the genie back in the bong is impossible.
Critics of medical marijuana have called it the first step toward legalizing all pot use. They're right. And it should be.
It's absurd for Michigan to still be arresting and jailing pot growers and users whose only real crime is that they were too stupid to apply for a medical marijuana certificate.
Give it up. Stop wasting taxpayer money in a futile fight to keep marijuana away from the people who want to use it. If current trends continue, most pot users will soon have a license to smoke anyway.
Better to focus our efforts on bringing the marijuana growers out of their basements and onto the tax rolls. Michigan could use the estimated $32 million in annual tax revenue it would generate, and the untold savings in law enforcement and Corrections costs.


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101128/OPINION03/11280305/We-can’t-put-the-genie-back-in-the-bong#ixzz16apXXNRN

[Blarf]

$32 million actually seems rather low. I would assume it would be much more than that.

Our medical marijuana law is actually a joke, but I support it because it should be legal anyways. Any measure to protect smokers from pointless prosecution is good.

And that Sheriff in Oakland County is a moron. Hopefully those who live in that county get him out of there as soon as possible.

[R8RBOB]

Whoa, is this a Republican openly calling for the legalization of marijuana?

[Philbo]

Yes there are Republicans, and many of them who support marijuana.

[iheartthed]

I would buy an online subscription to the News if I could see Nolan Finley smoke a spliff.

[Lowell]

Two trends are snowballing downhill right now. Marijuana legalization and full rights for gay Americans. Politicians have a choice -- get out of the way or get run over. They are opting for the former.

And why not? Neither is a one-party issue, neither harms anyone, enforcement is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars while legalization could create billions.

I would bet that at least 60% of the population under 70 has tried pot at least once. No one died. The myths are busted. Now, like gambling, it is a matter of which states are going to make money from the new reality and which are going to continue burying their head in the sand and wasting money.

Picture cribbed from Whitehouse posted on the "You know what downtown needs" thread. I think a little Silver Haze would fit nicely in Nolan's bong.

[Russix]

The recreational purposes of pot have absolutely nothing to do with it’s illegalization. Unfortunately growing hemp to distill into ethanol would cost me $6 a gallon, so hopefully by the time petrol disappears from the face of the planet, we will have dealt with this legal issue

[mauser]

Dow Chemical and the paper producers are the ones who originally requested the prohibtion on ALL HEMP, in order to remove competition for petrol, paper and cloth products. This is why non THC hemp is also illegal in the USA. It is also when they changed the name from its native indian spelling to the current misspelling - in order to appeal to anglo racism against Mexicans. 'Marijuana = Tijuana'.

All these old red necks with their whiskey and cigarettes can fuck off and die.

[Danny]

Marijuana is a multi-billion dollar black market business. The law can't stop it, kids and those who are mentally disabled smoke it and small businesses from street gangs to smoker's shops sell it. Weed is here to stay.

[downtownguy]

This could be the only time I've agreed with anything Nolan Finley has written.

[Leroy Hoard]

all these old red necks with their whiskey and cigarettes can fuck off and die.

lol lol lol lol

[DetroitPole]

This could be the only time I've agreed with anything Nolan Finley has written.

Me too. I'm honestly astonished at his piece. I have significantly more respect for him, not because I agree with him on this point, but because he's proven he isn't just an automaton like Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh who can do nothing but tow the party line. He certainly beats Rochelle Riley in terms of columnists for the papers, anyway.

[Django]

Whoa, is this a Republican openly calling for the legalization of marijuana?

It actually makes sense that conservatives oppose criminalization of drugs, not just pot. They want a small government, a free society. Liberals dont mind making up reasons to spend your tax money on do good laws. Now the conservatives have so much money wrapped up in prison building and being tough on drugs that their committed now and its going to be tough to change their mind.

I do like this group.
http://www.citizensopposingprohibition.org/

[R8RBOB]

Yes there are Republicans, and many of them who support marijuana.

Well in that case, I would like to see Rick Snyder and the incoming majority leaders of the State House and Senate publicly admit that they are in support of the legalization of marijuana in the great state of Michigan. Just do me a favor and wake me up when it happens.

[GOAT]

Since the crackdown on smoking I wonder how much "revenue" has been lost to the coffers? This would make up for a lot of that lost money.

[bibs]

My issue is that the proceeds from selling weed go to gangs and terrorist organizations that promote violence and anti US forces. By making it legal and taxing it, you create competition for these organizations and eliminate a good chunk of their revenue. In the last two weeks, two tunnels were discovered between Mexico and US and one contained 30 tons of weed. Since it is getting harder to get it into the US, I read the cartels are growing it in a national forest in Georgia. It's only a matter of time before they start corrupting our political system here. Look at this problem from an ecomonic stand point rather than an emotional or politcal point of view. Remember Prohibition and Al Capone!

[JBMcB]

Dow Chemical and the paper producers are the ones who originally requested the prohibtion on ALL HEMP

Not that old conspiracy theory again. Tell me, what product does Dow make that hemp would compete with?

Cotton processing chemicals? You don't need special chemicals to process cotton, but they making spinning certain kinds of cotton faster or cheaper. Ditto hemp. Anything else?

[Hypestyles]

In michigan, when the GOP super-majority takes over, I wouldn't look for any headway on this.. Snyder will likely side with the moralist arguments.. at the Federal level, the GOP moralists will not bring this up, neither will the ultra-centrist democrats.. the few progressive Dems who do will be dismissed as 'fringe nuts', including by White House spokespersons.. ah, well..

[Dbest]

Remember just because its POT that doesn't mean it's always smoked. From what I've heard vaporizing devices and THC infused food items are popular as well. I am happy for those who are terminally ill and may need this medication in order to stimulate their appetite or give them the ability to get up and walk around in less pain. Michigan could easily become the HUB for POT in this region[[if our neighboring states get on board). A2 and Lansing being major college towns has helped grow the industry. We are ahead of the curve on this thanks to Michigan RESIDENTS/VOTERS not politicians.... Are there any clinics in the COD? [[spare me the methadone jokes)