Marijuana Legalization Debate *NO PICTURES*

[gearhead55]

Originally Posted by Phlip

The Top Five Special Interest Groups Lobbying To Keep Marijuana Illegal

This makes a lot of sense and is not all that surprising. Big money interests with lobbying power are the same things that are keeping the healthcare field in the horrendous state that it is in. This is the United States that we live in. The only point that i would contest with this article is that it includes tabacco corporations in the "alcohol and beer companies" section. To me it looks like the tabacco industry supports the legalization. Marlboro has already trademarked the name "Marlboro Greens" as a cannabis cigarette to be prepared for its potential legalization. Also I attended a large concert festival called the "Smoke Out" which in addition to the multiple stages had a glasswares section, a seperate entrance for people that had their medical cards (they were allowed to bring in thier medical marijuana), and a public forum in which people could speak with expert lawyers on the topic and discuss legality issues and potential legislation changes. And who was a major sponsor of this? A tabacco company (i can't remember which as it was a couple years ago, but i think it was Marlboro, maybe Camel). They even had a "VIP" tent with dancers and a bar set up. So i from what i can gather it seems like the tabacco industry sees legalization as a potential way to transition from the stigmaed tabacco to another popular legal intoxicant. They already have the growing and distributing infrastructure in place.

I haven't read this whole thread, but any rational person would support the decriminalization of cannabis if they took a few minutes to weigh the pros and cons. I think that full legalization might not be the best route to follow though. If coporate interests such as big tobacco end up controlling the growing and distribution of cannabis the quality will undoubtably go way down and chemicals used as preservatives and insecticides will undoubtably be introduced. The system that is in place in california which allows for small, well controlled productions of the plant and a relatively low-key distribution system is the best for the consumer. Decrimilization rather than full legalization would allow a system like this to stay in place without losing the quality of the product that currently exists.

Hopefully.