TBD

[James Ford]

It would be great if they made pot legal and tobacco illegal. Also, if they made any beer that scores below an 80 on Beer Advocate illegal.

[atomic]

It would be great if they made pot legal and tobacco illegal. Also, if they made any beer that scores below an 80 on Beer Advocate illegal.

Well I am sure only the big breweries would have beers rated above 80 on beer advocate if this were in effect.

[hutch]

It would be great if they made pot legal and tobacco illegal.

so agree with this...


boy I'm just too agreeable today.

[i am gay and i like cats]

yeah . . . like rj reynolds and philip morris would ever allow that.  they control.  major, major control.  soon, a couple of companies will control pot, and fuck us all up with bullshit propaganda.  like, nine out of ten doctors agree, that its great for you.  smoke is, great for your body.

[RatBastard]

Are you trying to say that blacks smoke pot at the rate of eight times that of whites? God, you're a fucking retard.

The point is that blacks are arrested at a rate of eight times that of whites for something that they likely do at the same rate.

Wow to think I thought Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson were the two biggest racists on the planet.  This guy wins hands down.  The whole debate of legalizing pot to any degree is irrelevant to the racists reasoning he used to cast his vote...  (Personally though I could not care less who smokes what.)

http://news.yahoo.com/washington-d-c-panel-weighs-decriminalizing-marijuana-120117751.html

"Eight times more blacks than non-blacks in Washington are arrested for pot possession, and committee Chairman Tommy Wells said the measure's goal was fairness and reducing law enforcement costs.

'This is a social justice bill that addresses disproportionate impact,' said Wells, who is among nine candidates for mayor."


So according to him, since blacks break a certain law at a rate eight times that of non-blacks, the law needs to be repealed because of the "disproportionate impact" of the law.  By his logic rape should be decriminalized since far more men are arrested for rape and their is a disproportionate impact against men.  Did the people who live in DC actually vote this douche bag into office?  (Yes I did intentionally leave out the part of the article that states his political affiliation as it is irrelevant.)

According to the cited source, blacks in DC are arrested at a rate eight times that of non-blacks.  A logical deduction is that blacks in DC break the underlying law at a similar rate.  This could be a result of any number of factors, none of which are relevant to the point being made.  It is not mutually exclusive that all segments of society break a given law in the same rate, and at the same time in pure numbers one of those segments have a very high proportion of violators.  Again all irrelevant to the discussion.  Please try to respond to the point being discussed from now on.

I am sure African Americans have a much higher murder rate than white people in DC.   We could have long discussion why but I agree with Ratbastard that they shouldn't change laws just because one group is charged with it more than another group of people.  I am sure income level between the two groups is way apart as well and highest education level achieved.  It could be that people who have marijuana arrests could not be the primary reason they were arrested.  I believe people shouldn't be arrested for drug use unless they are driving or taking care of children. 

First off the article was talking about blacks not african americans.  No where did it mention africa.

[RatBastard]

ratbastard, so regardless of the the this article and what tommy wells said (i.e., removing the political "rationale"), what's your opinion? should we legalize it?

It really does not matter to me either way.  The usual arguments for legalization are a tad shallow to say the least (e.g. its not as bad as XZY) but that's not to say decriminalization or legalization should not be seriously considered.

[RatBastard]

According to the cited source, blacks in DC are arrested at a rate eight times that of non-blacks.  A logical deduction is that blacks in DC break the underlying law at a similar rate. 

It's a logical deduction if you assume that the police forces and the justice system in general does not give preference to whites and people with $$.  In actuality, the percentage of blacks and whites who smoke weed are nearly equal.  But if you are black and you smoke, you are 4 times as likely to be arrested for it than your white counterparts.

These numbers are national.  I don't know how it breaks down for DC. 

1) I do not doubt for a second that money buys one different treatment.

2) The national numbers are irrelevant as the discussion is about a DC issue.

[RatBastard]

well the issue of why marijuana should be legalized , to me, has nothing to do with race.


it should be legalized because there's nothing really that bad about it....

A rather Pollyanna justification on the issue at best.

[sweetcell]

First off the article was talking about blacks not african americans.  No where did it mention africa.

first off, do you consider it clever to make this "distinction"?

second, if you're going to use "first off" you need to follow it up with another point.

[RatBastard]

First off the article was talking about blacks not african americans.  No where did it mention africa.

first off, do you consider it clever to make this "distinction"?

second, if you're going to use "first off" you need to follow it up with another point.

The second off was readily evident with out needing to be said.

[atomic]

I think Ratbastard should not be able to talk about politics for a month.  And then if he has 100 posts during the month he can post about politics the next month. 

All he ever does is post his insane political views.  Let's see what else he can contribute.

[RatBastard]

I think Ratbastard should not be able to talk about politics for a month.  And then if he has 100 posts during the month he can post about politics the next month. 

All he ever does is post his insane political views.  Let's see what else he can contribute.

Really you think it is insane to believe we ought not make or change laws based on race?  Of course this was not a politic discussion anyway, I intentionally left the political affiliation out of it since it was irrelevant...  It was and is a discussion of law and how the guy in the article is a blatant racist.

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

I believe people shouldn't be arrested for drug use unless they are driving or taking care of children. 

you obviously don't have children 

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

1) I do not doubt for a second that money buys one different treatment.

Wow you are seriously misguided....So you think that the public defender  is as good as the $500 hour lawyer at getting someone off for a drug possession crime

[RatBastard]

1) I do not doubt for a second that money buys one different treatment.

Wow you are seriously misguided....So you think that the public defender  is as good as the $500 hour lawyer at getting someone off for a drug possession crime

You misread my post.  I am saying that money DOES matter.   That's why I said I don't doubt that money buys one different treatment.