Home › Forums › Open Discussion › 5 reasons you should sign I-1149 The Marijuana Reform Act
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April 28, 2011 at 5:31 pm #598764
thedarbyMemberFive Reasons to Sign I-1149
1.
Marijuana is a benign substance. Unlike alcohol, cigarettes,
and caffeine, marijuana has never caused a single death.
Marijuana should not result in a lifetime criminal record. Students
should not be ineligible for financial aid and children should not
be taken from their parents over a marijuana conviction.
2.
Marijuana prohibition is a waste of money. The State of
Washington spends one hundred million dollars annually to
arrest, prosecute and jail 12,000 people a year for non-violent,
victimless “crimes” related to marijuana. That
ʼs taxpayer money
that could be saved — or spent on education, health programs,
teen drug treatment programs, etc.
3.
Just like alcohol prohibition, prohibition of marijuana
empowers violent organized crime.
Instead of allowing small
business owners and farmers to grow and sell marijuana and
industrial hemp, the government has granted a monopoly to
criminals who will maim, kill, and sell drugs to children in the
name of profit.
4.
Medical marijuana patients are not protected by current law.
Voters in Washington overwhelmingly approved our medical
marijuana law in 1998. But patients are still being arrested,
prosecuted and sometimes even jailed for using doctorauthorized
medicine. The only way to really protect patients is to
make their medicine legal.
5.
Hemp is an eco-friendly, profitable crop for Washingtonʼs
farmers.
The first marijuana law in the U.S. required landowners
to grow hemp for its abundant industrial uses, which include
cooking oil, fabric, paint, biofuel and paper – four times as much
paper per acre as trees. Due to prohibition, the demand for hemp
products in the U.S. must be met by importing it from other
countries, robbing our farmers of a valuable cash crop.
this link will take you to a current list of where to sign https://sensiblewashington.org/blog/supporting-businesses/
would you like more info on the Initiative please go here https://sensiblewashington.org/blog/about/
find us on FaceBook here http://www.facebook.com/sensiblewashington
and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sensible-West-Seattle/199683326715472
would you like to help Volunteer headquarters is here http://www.sensiblewa.org
Legalize say YES to I-1149
Posted by West Seattle Coordinator for Sensible Washington
April 29, 2011 at 1:50 pm #723403
anonymeParticipantI agree with everything you say except for your allegation in point #1 that marijuana has never caused a single death. I think that is a very difficult thing to quantify, especially if you consider accidents due to cognitive impairment. I also question your inclusion of death by caffeine in the same statement.
Your cause is valid and most of your arguments sensible. Don’t weaken your stance with unproven claims.
April 29, 2011 at 2:19 pm #723404
redblackParticipantwhat anonyme said, plus…
6. it’ll give you a nice buzz.
let’s not mince words here. in addition to its many benefits as a plant, its harvested fruit is a recreational drug. and we all know that the human brain has a close relationship with intoxicants.
it should be legalized, taxed, and regulated, and i’ll definitely sign the petition.
but as with any mood-altering substance, employers and business owners should be allowed to prohibit it in the workplace or in their places of business.
April 29, 2011 at 5:22 pm #723405
DPMemberMarijuana is a benign substance.
True, marijuana growing in a field or sitting in a jar can’t hurt you. But were that marijuana to catch fire somehow, and were you to somehow inhale the smoke from that fire at regular intervals, then marijuana could definitely harm you.
Marijuana has been shown by clnical studies to be a psychologically and physically addictive DRUG. People who become addicted to it, especially at a young age, show signs of something called “amotivational syndrome.”*
Ever watch a chronic user try to quit? I have. It ain’t pretty.
I agree with much of I-1149, thedarby, but to start off with a statement that is patently false hurts your cause.
I’ll vote for I-1149 on two conditions:
1) That it honestly acknowledges marijuana to be an addictive drug and does not try to paint it as being somehow better than other addictive drugs, and
2) That it sets aside money from any marijuana-related tax revenue for treatment programs.
I can’t in good conscience vote for any bill that fails to address treatment and takes “marijuana is benign” as its first premise. Marijuana is not benign.
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*For a skeptical but fair analysis of amotivational syndrome, see this link:
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