I hope they legalize POT next, and tax the hell out of it!

As a side note, "Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons'" hit "Oh What a Night" was originally about the repeal of Prohibition, but they changed it to be about the first time he had sex as it had more appeal to young people.
https://youtu.be/mTUhnIY3oRM?si=HUZ4KJhEf7Qca56B

quote:

Originally posted by Rolan_Kraps:
I hope they legalize POT next, and tax the hell out of it!

As a side note, "Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons'" hit "Oh What a Night" was originally about the repeal of Prohibition, but they changed it to be about the first time he had sex as it had more appeal to young people.

Maybe skip the TAX part, all we need is more Government getting in our pockets.
More usage is not a great thing for us, not mentioning the additional problems in society it will cause but I respect and appreciate the freedom aspect of the issue.
Those issues make me not in a hurry to put it everywhere but wouldn't object if it was.
PS on my side note, that was interesting > love Frankie Valli.

quote:

I hope they legalize POT next, and tax the hell out of it!

They should legalize it and tax it to at least compensate for costs involved in it's negative effects on everyone else.
The idea of instituting a punishing tax rate above that number for legal users of the product is counterproductive.

I don't like the idea of overtaxing it to the point that illegal sales prices are lower than buying it from a legal vendor.
When you do that, we're right back to having to deal with the criminal aspect as that's where many sales and problems will be.
The law enforcement costs now are a tremendous burden on taxpayers, along with the related criminal violence and that's a big bonus if it can be significantly reduced.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:

quote:

I hope they legalize POT next, and tax the hell out of it!

They should legalize it and tax it to at least compensate for costs involved in it's negative effects on everyone else.
The idea of instituting a punishing tax rate above that number for legal users of the product is counterproductive.

I don't like the idea of overtaxing it to the point that illegal sales prices are lower than buying it from a legal vendor.
When you do that, we're right back to having to deal with the criminal aspect as that's where many sales and problems will be.
The law enforcement costs now are a tremendous burden on taxpayers, along with the related criminal violence and that's a big bonus if it can be significantly reduced.

Pot is still illegal on the federal level but now (sort of) legal in more States than not...

But what you fear is exactly what is happening. Instead of just decriminalizing it (making it legal) they are creating 'dispensaries' which are legal cartels where a limited number of outlets partner with government and for everyone else it's still illegal. But now there is more illegal pot sold than ever before.

Guys, let's drop the "tax the hell out of it" schtick. That's been tried in a number of states and it's nothing but problems. It's like Jljones called it: the police go from prohibition enforcement to revenue enforcement on this issue. Besides, do you really want to give more money to the government? Who took over after Capone and his types lost the liquor business? That's right, major corporations who line politician's pockets better, and at higher levels.

I'm for less government. I'm for more freedom. I'm for giving the government less money to play with. With those things in mind, I say simply remove it from schedule 1 status and it and don't tax a fucking plant you can grow in your back yard.

The prohibition on alcohol did nothing good for this country. I'm with Para in wishing alcohol itself never existed, and I've seen far more destruction and misery from it than anything else. There's no shoving that shit back in the horse, though. Maybe we'll figure it out some day, and maybe we won't. Just know that if you enjoy the singular effect alcohol produces, you are predisposed to alcoholism to some degree. Might even take decades, there's a lot of late bloomers out there, but people who don't like the way alcohol makes them feel don't turn into alcoholics.

quote:

Originally posted by Rolan_Kraps:
I hope they legalize POT next, and tax the hell out of it!

Now, Roland, let's be honest. You just hope they legalize it.



As for alcohol, when you can make an intoxicant out of rotting fruit or fermented grain, there's no getting rid of it.

Prohibition was an attempt to legislate morality. That has never worked, and I believe never will.
There is no doubt that alcohol abuse has caused untold suffering.
Rod

...and thank GOD they did repeal it. Even if they legalized weed at the federal level, I highly doubt my work policy would ever allow me to partake.

So...I'll take what I can get. :: sips bourbon ::

I hope they legalize pot, but even if they do I'd never smoke it. I always thought it stunk too bad. Now edibles, maybe. After I retire and am no longer subject to random drug testing, I'd probably partake.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Huffman:
I always thought it stunk too bad.

I'll be frank: there's so many strains out there, I have little doubt if someone were determined to take a crack at it, they could find something they don't find objectionable. I smoked weed that tasted like everything from the inside of a roadkilled skunk's asshole to lemonade to blueberries. Seriously, blueberries. The heavy indica kush strains certain lower grades of people smoke in public or at parties are a far cry from what a connoisseur would pass you. Hell, I think weed smells and tastes great and I can't stand that stuff.

I'd challenge anyone who thinks this to walk into a high grade dispensary and tell the guy behind the counter they want to smell every last jar. You'd be astonished how different they all are and patterns will quickly emerge. It's like saying you can't stand the way beer smells as if the whole world only and ever had Bud Light.

quote:

Originally posted by sig sailor:
Prohibition was an attempt to legislate morality. That has never worked, and I believe never will.

Sorry, but this is a tiresome and silly comment.

Nearly every single law on the books is "legislating morality" in some manner, and of course it works...assuming, of course, that people are actually arrested, charged, and convicted of said crime.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Nearly every single law on the books is "legislating morality" in some manner, and of course it works...assuming, of course, that people are actually arrested, charged, and convicted of said crime.

A guy could buy a blowjob in I'd guess any city in the world if he knows where and how to look. Doesn't matter who's in charge, what the laws are, or how hard they're trying to enforce them.

Prostitution is illegal and immoral. So they were "legislating morality" when they came up with that law. No different than pretty much any law.

Just because you can find a way to break the law and possibly get away with it doesn't make it right.

Laws are put in place to guide behavior and to steer it towards a more moral and civilized society. Hence, laws are "legislating morality". Pretty much all of them in one way or another.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Prostitution is illegal and immoral. So they were "legislating morality" when they came up with that law. No different than pretty much any law.

Right, but you said it works, and you're also coming at it from a pretty black and white perspective. Using your logic one could paint, for instance, paying for sex with not using your turn signal with the same brush. They're both illegal, and yet one disgusts people, causes all kinds of harm and injury, is done by people of low character and ill repute, and the other leaves a guy feeling relaxed and happy. Prostitution has existed for all of written history and likely long before, it will never be stopped. Might as well legalize and tax the hell out of it.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Just because you can find a way to break the law and possibly get away with it doesn't make it right.

Like drinking a beer when the government says you shouldn't or smoking a plant or getting a hummer? Nonsense. I cannot agree that all laws are right, even if they're designed to be moral in nature.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Laws are put in place to guide behavior and to steer it towards a more moral and civilized society. Hence, laws are "legislating morality". Pretty much all of them in one way or another.

Yes, and there needs to be a limit to how much moralizing the government has any right to engage in, especially considering what a crooked pack of jackals are in charge and how the laws, pretty much all of them, don't apply to them in either way or another.

quote:

Might as well legalize and tax the hell out of it.

^^^ This is like screeching nails on a chalkboard every time I hear this.

Can we please just stipulate that less Government is more freedom and keep them out as much as we can?

My dad was born on Dec 5 1920 and died Dec 6 1973 of a heart attack. He was a VERY heavy drinker. 53 years is a short life.
I'm 70 now and healthy and don't drink any kind of alcohol. Wonder if it made a difference ???

quote:

Originally posted by rexles:
My dad was born on Dec 5 1920 and died Dec 6 1973 of a heart attack. He was a VERY heavy drinker. 53 years is a short life.
I'm 70 now and healthy and don't drink any kind of alcohol. Wonder if it made a difference ???

I think the difference is in the amount and frequency of alcohol consumed.
No doubt heavy taxation on the liver is not good but plenty can and do live long lives and drink alcohol.
I imagine an autopsy of your father would tell the tale.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
^^^ This is like screeching nails on a chalkboard every time I hear this. (

It's a joke.

quote:

Originally posted by rexles:
My dad was born on Dec 5 1920 and died Dec 6 1973 of a heart attack. He was a VERY heavy drinker. 53 years is a short life.
I'm 70 now and healthy and don't drink any kind of alcohol. Wonder if it made a difference ???

My grandfather was an alcoholic and had his first heart attack at 34. He made it to 60. Alcohol is very hard on the heart, among other things.

As I've pointed out many times over the years- alcohol is such that if you drink enough of it all at once (over a few hours or a few days) it will kill you, and if you drink enough of it that your body becomes dependent on it, it can kill you if you stop drinking it.

In my younger days, I made all the usual mistakes with consuming alcohol, but when I got into my late twenties, it became that I could no longer metabolize alcohol in the way it seems most men can, so I gave it up, except for social occasions which traditionally call for a drink.

Over the last 35 years, I've been drunk perhaps four times. I always have a cocktail or two on New Year's eve with my wife. I'll have a beer or two with an old friend if I haven't seen them in a while.

I am grateful I have no desire to consume alcohol on a regular basis. Over the decades, the times my friends have shown their ass, alcohol was always involved, and I have one friend who took his own life due to addiction.

If alcohol disappeared tomorrow, I'd be overjoyed.

I know there is no easy answer but people make a choice. Doesn't matter if it is alcohol, pot, meth, heroin...tobacco or Big Macs....