Honestly, how will legalizing marijuana lead to smaller government? Pot will still have to be regulated and taxed, which will increase, not decrease, the size of government.

Honestly.

As a Catholic, I’m pretty sure marijuana is no mortal sin. Whether it’s legal, or not doesn’t affect me, since I’m not a stoner.

Actually, I’ll be really curious to see how the Democrat controlled Federal government reacts!

Originally my answer to your title question was going to be, “Let’s just hope they smoke a fatty and forget about it.”

Then I read that you typically vote Republican. I don’t want to start a flamewar, but the absolute worst thing you can ever do politically is vote blindly along party lines. Regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on. Don’t vote for issues that you haven’t adequately researched.

Also, I sure hope the rest of the country follows California’s lead on this thing. It’s waaaaaay past time to legalize it.

Great question. I agree with the Libertarians on that issue. Those who say they want smaller government keep voting for bigger spenders (Reagan, both Bushes) and keep not holding them accountable. And when it comes to your freedom in your bedroom, or with your doctor, or with the drug of your choice, or for that insidious Patriot Act, or for “show me your papers” — they’re for BIG Big Brother government.

Keeping recreational drugs illegal is something that is done by Big Pharma, the cotton industry, the paper industry, and others who would lose money were the drugs legalized. They just use Republicans as their duped, unpaid handmaidens to do their dirty work for them.

And pain killers? Good luck even getting those out of your doctor when you desperately need them.

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The Religious nutjobs will cry louder only if they find a link that marijuana leads to gay marriage.

All it takes is for someone to say it.

I think they would turn it around in their favor by replacing the wine and incense during mass on sundays by allowing people to roll up joints in the pews.

It would most definitely increase attendance and membership.

Remember, Republicans want small government only as far as economic affairs go…when it comes to social issues, they want MORE control, not less.

It’s too close to say it will pass at this point. Guess you need to label me a hypocritical loser, since I don’t think it should pass. Wow, I’ll seriously think about that;ie; it might change my vote.

yea they think its the devil drug that kills brain cells. they make fun of people that wana legalize it because they think they know everything but they way to shut them up is to ask for their sources of information. that’l get em everytime because there is no real source that says weeds bad. show them “THE UNION” (canadian documentary filmed in british columbia where weed is legal). this documentary is a very good investment and will shut down any argument against weed. its only gona take time til its legal. til all the people in the reefer madness generation are out of office, and the voters are dead.

Hi, Far Darrig.

You’ve certainly got a point about voting libertarian–I sure think it’s a good idea. Although in high school I clung to a young “Republican” attitude, I have always been a registered independent, and have self-declared libertarian views. This is just introductory smalltalk, though; on to the point at hand.

I am an atheist and anti-theist (that is: I do not believe there is yet any sufficient evidence for God as described by any earthly religion, and I am of the belief that formal religious structure has a negative impact on human society). So, let me use this to preface the following, as I am only playing devil’s advocate: the religious world can be broken into many different descriptive categories, like fundamentalists, evangelicals, protestants, moderates, et al. Therefore, I’m not sure if you mean all religious folks, or just the completely fundamental, kill-joy crazies who most of the thinking world can readily identify as, well, crazies.

The fact is that in the United States, religious affiliation is one of the biggest predictors of political alignment (read: Buddhist, Hindus, Muslims, etc. tend to be Democrats; Jews, Christians, and some agnostics tend to be Republicans; atheists and some agnostics tend to be Libertarians, and so on…). It therefore stands to reason that the installed base of Republicans are also moralists (relative to their religious denomination of choice [maybe ‘choice’ is an ironic word here]) who carry with them a black-and-white set of beliefs regarding what things are right and wrong. Among many denominations, intoxication in any form is frowned upon, and across more still, disrespect of man’s law is also considered sinful behavior (and marijuana *is* illegal, having been so since before most of these people were born). There are any number of reasons that a devout, religious, conservative, puritanically moralist reasons why these folks would be against marijuana, but the one I’d like to focus on is this: government influence.

Most Republicans, and Christians, are of a very nationalist mindset (that is: America comes first, our nation is the best, our nation is a pinnacle of justice in the world, we are a well-deserved super-power, we are blessed by God Himself, etc.) and as such, they have a certain amount of trust for the government and its proxies which are present everywhere in our society. From the “This is your brain on drugs” ads, to the “Winners Don’t Use Drugs” F.B.I. warning which shone on the screens of countless arcade cabinets in the early 90’s, it is taken for granted that by and large, our government has our best interests at heart and, bumbling as it may be, is a trustworthy figure of authority under whose rule we can all live comfortably. So, when the government says “it’s bad because we said so,” for about 70 years or so, it is just assumed by these people that pot really *is* bad (nevermind that you can learn otherwise by simply researching the plant on Wikipedia!).

Unfortunately, that means this is not a problem we can overcome in a matter of days, months, years or decades. It will take generations to clear this up, and across these will be required many revealing events that force society to cast a skeptical eye on what we perceive to be true and false. California’s legalization bill is a perfect example of just such a moment. We’re coming upon a time when one state will make a bold leap into waters which are perceived by at least half the population to be quite dangerous, and after the years pass and we see that things are still A-O.K., then and only then will the tides begin to turn in favor of individual rights and constitutional freedom.

Here’s to hoping.

-Johan