Ruben Navarrette Jr
Ruben Navarrette Jr is a living dinosaur trapped in another age. In Mr. Naverette’s latest piece “Legal Pot in California a Big Mistake” Ruben relied on well debunked myths surrounding the legalization of cannabis. There are a few reasons why this could be. Perhaps he was paid off by the Alcohol Lobby, the Pharmaceutical Industry, or the DEA to write it. But since I do believe there is a flash of light in his eyes: I will just believe that Ruben Navarette Jr is either misinformed, or a complete idiot. My point by point analysis of his piece will follow below. His words are in Red, and Mine in Black.
San Diego, California (CNN) — California’s most valuable export isn’t fine wine, agricultural products or motion pictures.
Oh, the number one cash crop in California is Marijuana. I know that one! It’s crazy isn’t it? A crop which is completely unregulated and in fact criminal to grow, distribute, or possess without a medical license actually beats out corn, wheat, and sunflowers as the states largest cash crop!
What California offers is ideas.
???Then why did you bring up agricultural products in your first sentence? ok. I guess I’ll play along.
Political movements and cultural trends start here and sweep across the country. Some ideas are born of genius, and they’re priceless. But others come from hubris, and they’re dangerous.
Ahh yes. Hubris is dangerous! And that word most accurately depicts an idea which wishes to see prison populations go down, tax revenues go up, and give people a sense of personal freedom and liberty.
It’s in the second category that you’ll find California’s Proposition 19, an initiative on the November 2 ballot that would make it legal for anyone who is 21 or older to buy small amounts of marijuana.
Hmmm. Why’s that?
A recent survey by Public Policy Polling indicates that the majority of California voters support the proposition, called the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, by 47 percent to 38 percent.
Cool. So the people are for it and I am too. Isn’t that what living in a democracy is about? (It should also be noted that 9 out of 10 americans prefer polling firms which employ alliteration in their names.)
It’s official. The country’s most populous state is nibbling at poison.
Poison Runnin’ Through My Veins! Fuck Yeah!
One can see how this kind of measure would appeal to those who want to seem pragmatic, hip or enlightened –such as former Facebook executive Sean Parker, who is reportedly contributing $100,000 to the campaign for Proposition 19. The 30-year-old Parker — a venture capitalist who founded the music-sharing system, Napster — offered the donation after Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, contributed a total of $70,000.
Whoa! You mean two of the richest young (b)millionaires in the world are actually for it? Awesome! I bet the fact that they smoked weed really messed up their lives. If only they know that they were nibbling at poison in their younger years!
A spokesman for the pro-legalization group Drug Policy Alliance boasted, “What’s interesting here is that [Parker] is a member of the generation that really gets it.”
“pro legalization” and “boast” being used in the same sentence in attempt to smear any legitimacy the organization has. Come on now, you know what you’re doing here! I do it some times too but I’m a stoned blogger, you know it isn’t fair. Shame shame.
What do supporters of Proposition 19 supposedly “get” that the rest of us are missing?
Perhaps the facts surrounding the issue as opposed to a century of misinformation and hysteria?
They insist that marijuana isn’t as dangerous as other products that are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco.
We don’t just make shit up, the scientific community is pretty much in consensus on this one. If you don’t believe me then I suggest you check out Marihuana Reconsidered by Dr. Lester Grinspoon. Here’s his credentials, maybe you could talk with him if you any more questions.
Dr. Grinspoon is Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.[1] Grinspoon was senior psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston for 40 years.[2] Dr. Grinspoon is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Psychiatric Association.[2] He was founding editor of the Annual Review of Psychiatry and the Harvard Mental Health Letter.[2] Grinspoon was editor of the Harvard Mental Health Letter for fifteen years.
They point to the benefits of medicinal marijuana to alleviate pain and suffering for cancer patients.
Well, the country has already made up it’s mind on this issue. If you’re sick and pain, and find relief in marijuana, then by all means smoke up! It’s practically a non issue at this point.
And, with a drug war raging south of the border, they say the most effective way to combat the Mexican drug cartels that bring their illicit cargo into the United State is to legalize the substance, undercut the profit and put the cartels out of business.
Two points here. One is the FACT that the violence at the border was a direct result of the Mexican president taking on the drug cartels. It was an increased criminalization of drugs at the border which resulted in the mess we see today. You see, when Calderon began eradicating certain drug cartels he didn’t anticipate that the different cartels had already carved out their smuggling routes. There was some violence, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as when Calderon began escalating the drug war. So after the police took out a certain smuggling route this caused a rippling effect which effected all the cartels. To those who were no longer able to use their smuggling route they began encroaching on other cartels turf. Other times there was new sections of the border which were previously inpenetrable which were left wide open after the Police came in and cleared it out. This created the war we see today over new land which is now available.
These are all perfectly fine arguments that are, to some of us, completely unconvincing.
If you decide that exposure to a given substance — particularly the kind of consistent and sustained exposure that comes from a product being made readily available — is harmful to individuals and the rest of society, then you will naturally put in place laws that make it illegal to possess the product.
It’s readily available now. It just isn’t taxed or controlled. In fact numbers usually go down in countries which have previously experimented with decriminalization. But once again you don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s what some other smart people say.
“In sum, there is little evidence that decriminalization of marijuana use necessarily leads to a substantial increase in marijuana use.” – National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine
According to my high school english textbook if you put other experts quotes in a piece it causes the reader to believe that you’re not just spouting bullshit . Look into it.
That makes sense. So does this: If you legalize any kind of undesirable behavior — from vagrancy to prostitution to identity theft — you’ll remove the stigma and get more of that behavior.
I’m still waiting for Jay-Z’s new hit “Everyday I’m Panhandling”. Sorry if you compare marijuana use to identity theft then you should expect an idiotic response.
It’s true that alcohol and tobacco are legal, but it’s also true that we restrict the use of such products and levy high taxes on them to discourage people from abusing them. Why?
We also realized the war on alcohol wasn’t worth the social costs, and it got so bad we actually amended the constitution. but carry on.
Because we recognize the harm these products cause and the damage they do. We’re especially aware of this with alcohol, which, like marijuana, has the effect of relieving people of control over their faculties, impairing their judgment and dulling their sense of right and wrong. None of that is good for the rest of us.
I’m stoned as fuck and I’m still PWNIN your sorry ass. Using your logic I suppose this means that all sober people are incapable of winning a debate against me. See, I don’t believe that. Because I’m not an asshole.
The use of medical marijuana is a far cry from making the herb readily available to anyone who can purchase it.
Prop 19 makes marijuana legal to those over 21. People under 21 would be considered “other than everyone”. Nonetheless even though alcohol is legal, teenagers say in poll after poll that marijuana is easier to get than beer or cigarettes. Check this, it’s another reference. Cool isn’t it?
A recent study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has some startling results about teens and drugs.
In their study, they found that 40 percent of teens could get marijuana within a day; another quarter said they could get it within an hour. In another portion of the survey, teens between the ages of 12 and 17 say it’s easier to get marijuana than buy cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs. That number is up 37 percent from 2007.
In fact, medical marijuana dispensaries are concerned that they could be put out of business by competition with liquor stores selling the same product without the kind of regulation with which they must contend.
Keep shootin from the hip bud! Damn it feels good to be a cowboy. Prop 19 doesn’t make marijuana legal at your local 7-11, it is delegated to strictly controlled and regulated dispensaries. In fact if you wanted to actually make a factual statement about what some dispensaries are worried about, then you could point out that some are worried they will be forced to close because they won’t be able to meet the new state requirements.
Under the current system — established in 2003 by state law and in 1996 by a proposition — you need a doctor’s note to buy marijuana for medicinal use. The requirement could soon go out the window.
What?!!? Sick people who find relief in medical marijuana won’t be able to get it anymore?!?!??! Ok, I’m against that!
As for the drug war, I defer to the expert — the person who has put his life and the lives of his family in danger to take the fight to drug traffickers: Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Also the person who, when he came into office, created the entire debacle at the border. In fact your hero is actually backed decriminalization, and suggested the US do the same.
“The bill, proposed by conservative President Felipe Calderon, would make it legal to carry up to 5 grams (0.18 ounces) of marijuana, 500 milligrams (0.018 ounces) of cocaine and tiny quantities of other drugs such as heroin and methamphetamines.”
via Reuters (an actual news organisation)
He has strongly condemned Proposition 19, saying that it reflects lax attitudes toward drug consumption in the United States, which is the life’s blood of the drug trade.
The same life blood he just decriminalized in his own country. Who’s playing a politician?? come on you can guess? Don’t let all those years of Political Science go to waste now!
Calling the growing acceptance of marijuana use by the American public absurd, Calderon warns that should the measure be adopted. it would only drive up demand and undercut joint efforts by the United States and Mexico to combat the drug cartels. It’s a subject he knows well.
You forgot to capitalize the first letter of your second sentence. Tsk Tsk. Must’ve been those bong hits you were taking with Ted Turner in the “Play Room”
“Drugs kill in production,” Calderon said. “Drugs kill in distribution, as is the case in the violence in Mexico, and drugs kill in consumption.”
Drugs also kill when we have a large amount of people who realize “Oh Shit! I can turn my basement into a grow room and make fucking bank!” Prohibition is what causes violence as I thought we pretty much accepted after we ended the Prohibition of Alcohol.
In this case, we should listen to our neighbor. Recently, when a Mexican newspaper essentially handed over its coverage to the drug cartels, asking them what it could publish and what it couldn’t, reasonable people in both countries condemned the decision to do so as a cowardly act of surrender.
I have no idea what the fuck you are talking about. Are you suggesting that dispensary owners are going to take over the press in California? If so, your ass is grass (pun intended)
But capitulation comes in many forms, and Proposition 19 is one of them. If you legalize drug use, you will get more drug use, with all the nasty side effects. It’s that simple.
It’s that simple of you’re a complete dipshit which has bought into the phony war on drugs for the last century. Do I really have to show the statistics which show that countries which have legalized or decriminalized marijuana didn’t see an increase in usage, but actually a decrease? Are we in 7th grade? Seriously? Fuck. Now I have to google shit again. Here you go. Fucktard.
California is the birthplace of ideas, all right. But if voters make the mistake of approving this foolhardy measure, those who live in the other 49 states had better hope that this is one trend that stays on the left coast.
Ummmm. This “trend” is currently sweeping the nation. And guess what? We’re winning! So if you want to live in an age of prohibition then by all means move to a crime infested area, and live it up. Me, I’m for raising billions of dollars in tax revenue and reducing the social costs which come with keeping this plant illegal.
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Keep up the good work! Naverrette is getting slammed in the comments section of his piece! Keep up the good work!
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