• Arnold Schwarzenegger,  Marijuana

    Poll Watch: 41 Per Cent Support Legalization and Taxation of Marijuana



    While 49 per cent say no in the latest Rasmussen Poll.

    Forty-one percent (41%) of likely U.S. voters think the United States should legalize and tax marijuana to help solve the nation’s fiscal problems.

    However, nearly half (49%) oppose this idea, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

    These results show little difference from a survey conducted in February that asked Americans about legalization only. At that time, 40% said marijuana should be legalized, but 46% disagreed.

    While little movement has been made on the federal level, cash-strapped states – most notably California – have taken the idea of legalizing and taxing the drug into consideration. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state assemblymen are calling for a discussion on the proposal as a means to not only increase tax revenue for the state but to free up large sums of money invested in the legal system as a result of the War on Drugs.

    California voters are evenly divided on the issue. A recent survey found that 45% support legalizing and taxing marijuana to help solve the state’s financial problems, while 46% are opposed to the idea.

    A novel idea that pot could help California’s budget problems but it legalization and taxation will not occur anytime soon. In the meantime, California is racking up some serious budget deficits.

    So, if anyone thinks marijuana will help California with its government financing operations, they are just blowing smoke.


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Marijuana,  War on Drugs

    Shocker: Obama Administration Ends “The War on Drugs”

    Gil Kerlikowske

    Gil Kerlikowske, the new White House drug czar, signaled Wednesday his openness to rethinking the government’s approach to fighting drug use

    What a shock!

    Not.

    The Obama administration’s new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting “a war on drugs,” a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.

    In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation’s drug issues.

    “Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as a war on them,” he said. “We’re not at war with people in this country.”

    Mr. Kerlikowske’s comments are a signal that the Obama administration is set to follow a more moderate — and likely more controversial — stance on the nation’s drug problems. Prior administrations talked about pushing treatment and reducing demand while continuing to focus primarily on a tough criminal-justice approach.

    The Obama administration is likely to deal with drugs as a matter of public health rather than criminal justice alone, with treatment’s role growing relative to incarceration, Mr. Kerlikowske said.

    Hell, Obama is no longer fighting a “War on Terror.” So, getting rid of a war on drugs is easy.

    Flap is looking forward to all of those treatment facilities for marijuana addiction. Come on, Obama is essentially legalizing pot with its failure to enforce the nation’s drug laws.

    Who is anyone kidding?


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger,  Marijuana

    California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Says it is “Time for Debate” on Legal Marijuana

    Arnold Schwarzenegger before his political days smoking a joint


    At least Arnold is consistent albeit wrong on the issue.

    Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday it’s time for California to study whether to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use, though he’s not yet advocating for such a change.

    The governor was asked about a recent Field Poll showing that 56 percent of registered voters support legalizing and taxing marijuana to raise revenues for cash-strapped California. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has proposed legislation that would legalize the drug for recreational use, rather than just medical purposes.

    “Well, I think it’s not time for that, but I think it’s time for a debate,” Schwarzenegger said. “I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues, I’m always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did it have on those countries?”

    He said his native Austria is revisiting some of its marijuana laws, for instance. The Austrian Parliament last year authorized cultivation of medical marijuana.

    “It could very well be that everyone is happy with that decision and then we could move to that,” Schwarzenegger said of other nations’ legalization policies. “If not, we shouldn’t do it. But just because of raising revenues … we have to be careful not to make mistakes at the same time.
    Schwarzenegger previously has shown a casual attitude toward marijuana. He was filmed smoking a joint in the 1977 film, “Pumping Iron.” And he told the British version of GQ in 2007, “That is not a drug. It’s a leaf.” Spokesman Aaron McLear downplayed the governor’s comment as a joke at the time.

    For all intents and purposes, medical marijuana has already legalized “POT” in California. It takes very little effort to get “legal” marijuana in this state.

    All Arnold is interested in is to increase state revenues through marijuana taxes to bail out his disasterous overspending budgets.


    Technorati Tags: ,