Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Both state and federal law enforcement officials have already spent tens of thousands of dollars this harvest season taking down some of the largest crops of marijuana in Oregon history.
The Oregonian reported that narcotics agents have taken 220,000 plants this year from throughout the state. Almost all of the crops, DEA officials reported, are grown by Mexican drug cartels expanding their California operations.
Although those numbers are staggering, isn’t there a much simpler way to combat the marijuana war than by using helicopters, secret raids and all that money? Yes, there is. Let each person in the country grow two marijuana plants if they choose to do so.
In Oregon, counties are sending all the manpower they can afford deep into federal and privately owned forests to track crops, chase and arrest armed growers and to dispose of felled greenery, the Oregonian reported. At some of the grow sites, more than 1,000 plants were growing. Each plant is worth an estimated $1,000 by the time it is dried and sold illegally on the streets. In other words, there’s a lot of money involved with growing marijuana. For a proposal from more than 500 economists, including the widely respected Milton Friedman, check out An Open Letter to the President, Congress, Governors, and State Legislatures they compiled about the benefits of legalizing marijuana.
To break this down, let’s picture two scenarios: The first is a middle-aged male sitting around in his living room, wearing these trendy glasses, sipping coffee, watching the morning news and hanging out with his wife. The couple has already eaten breakfast and are preparing for a day at work. Sounds normal enough, eh?
What you don’t see in the picture are the two marijuana plants the couple have growing in their basement. But they’re there. So, the day goes past and the guy gets home before his wife, and it’s been a long day at the office. Naturally, the guy decides to take a small toke of marijuana harvested from his own plants to ease his mind. He does. The wife comes home. They make dinner. Watch some television. Go to bed. And do whatever it is that married people do alone in their bedrooms.
Which brings us into the next scenario. Same house. Same couple. Same dog. Everything about the morning ritual is the same. Except there is no cannabis growing in the basement, for it is illegal. But when the guy gets home from work this time, and he’s really stressed out, he starts drinking whisky, which is legal. By the time his wife gets home, he’s got half a bottle down. As he pours his fourth Black Label and water, he decides he wants to smoke some pot. So he calls this drug-dealer kid - some degenerate 20 year old with no ambition and no hope - to score some grass. The kid’s phone calls are being monitored by the feds, and certain key words, particularly “can I buy some pot from you?,” results in a raid of the “normal” couple’s house an hour later.
And all the guy wanted to do was get high.
This isn’t intended to be some pro-drug, “let’s all smoke pot because it will help bring peace on Earth.” It won’t. In fact, that’s a load of crap. Some people I know who smoke marijuana are downright scum. Smoking pot does not make you cool or peaceful. It will not make you start eating veggie burritos.
What we’re talking about here today is the millions of dollars wasted each year on the marijuana drug war. It’s no cheap ticket to catch those who buy or sell illegal drugs, prosecute them in court and then stick them in jail. Ten percent of inmates in Oregon prisons were drug manufacturers and/or dealers, according to the Oregon-based group known as The Contribution of Prisons to Public Safety. Drugs such as met*editmphetamine and co*editine, which are often linked to violent crime and other means of desperation, should be a serious concern for law enforcement officials. Yet the more time narcotics agents spend flying in helicopters above Oregon searching more marijuana, the more time some goon has to build a me*edith lab in his basement.
Let the man grow his two plants of marijuana and get on with his life. It’ll save us millions.
News Hawk- User https://www.420magazine.com
Source: NewWest
Author: Joseph Friedrichs
Contact: New West Network
Copyright: 2007 NewWest
Website: The West’s 2007 Marijuana War
The Oregonian reported that narcotics agents have taken 220,000 plants this year from throughout the state. Almost all of the crops, DEA officials reported, are grown by Mexican drug cartels expanding their California operations.
Although those numbers are staggering, isn’t there a much simpler way to combat the marijuana war than by using helicopters, secret raids and all that money? Yes, there is. Let each person in the country grow two marijuana plants if they choose to do so.
In Oregon, counties are sending all the manpower they can afford deep into federal and privately owned forests to track crops, chase and arrest armed growers and to dispose of felled greenery, the Oregonian reported. At some of the grow sites, more than 1,000 plants were growing. Each plant is worth an estimated $1,000 by the time it is dried and sold illegally on the streets. In other words, there’s a lot of money involved with growing marijuana. For a proposal from more than 500 economists, including the widely respected Milton Friedman, check out An Open Letter to the President, Congress, Governors, and State Legislatures they compiled about the benefits of legalizing marijuana.
To break this down, let’s picture two scenarios: The first is a middle-aged male sitting around in his living room, wearing these trendy glasses, sipping coffee, watching the morning news and hanging out with his wife. The couple has already eaten breakfast and are preparing for a day at work. Sounds normal enough, eh?
What you don’t see in the picture are the two marijuana plants the couple have growing in their basement. But they’re there. So, the day goes past and the guy gets home before his wife, and it’s been a long day at the office. Naturally, the guy decides to take a small toke of marijuana harvested from his own plants to ease his mind. He does. The wife comes home. They make dinner. Watch some television. Go to bed. And do whatever it is that married people do alone in their bedrooms.
Which brings us into the next scenario. Same house. Same couple. Same dog. Everything about the morning ritual is the same. Except there is no cannabis growing in the basement, for it is illegal. But when the guy gets home from work this time, and he’s really stressed out, he starts drinking whisky, which is legal. By the time his wife gets home, he’s got half a bottle down. As he pours his fourth Black Label and water, he decides he wants to smoke some pot. So he calls this drug-dealer kid - some degenerate 20 year old with no ambition and no hope - to score some grass. The kid’s phone calls are being monitored by the feds, and certain key words, particularly “can I buy some pot from you?,” results in a raid of the “normal” couple’s house an hour later.
And all the guy wanted to do was get high.
This isn’t intended to be some pro-drug, “let’s all smoke pot because it will help bring peace on Earth.” It won’t. In fact, that’s a load of crap. Some people I know who smoke marijuana are downright scum. Smoking pot does not make you cool or peaceful. It will not make you start eating veggie burritos.
What we’re talking about here today is the millions of dollars wasted each year on the marijuana drug war. It’s no cheap ticket to catch those who buy or sell illegal drugs, prosecute them in court and then stick them in jail. Ten percent of inmates in Oregon prisons were drug manufacturers and/or dealers, according to the Oregon-based group known as The Contribution of Prisons to Public Safety. Drugs such as met*editmphetamine and co*editine, which are often linked to violent crime and other means of desperation, should be a serious concern for law enforcement officials. Yet the more time narcotics agents spend flying in helicopters above Oregon searching more marijuana, the more time some goon has to build a me*edith lab in his basement.
Let the man grow his two plants of marijuana and get on with his life. It’ll save us millions.
News Hawk- User https://www.420magazine.com
Source: NewWest
Author: Joseph Friedrichs
Contact: New West Network
Copyright: 2007 NewWest
Website: The West’s 2007 Marijuana War
