while i can't ever understand the pain alcohol has caused your family, and that train's post was pretty dumb, are ad hominem attacks needed?
but as to my opinion on alcohol, an out-right prohibition would be a disaster, so i would increase the tax on it (why there isn't already one when it causes so much damage is beyond me).
Wow, carp has really hit the fan in this topic.
Anyway, we're getting a little off-topic here guys...
artie just wants to tax everything
yesssssssssssssssssssssssss
let them pay for my bridges, schools, and health care with their addictions muah uah uah auha
We already have a tax on alcohol up here.
Nowhere in my previous posts in this thread did I ever take a stance on whether or not marijuana should be legal. All I said is that it would take the government a lot of work to get a system of laws and regulations in place for it to be legal.
While there are some substances that are downright destructive no matter who takes them, there are still those that don't affect people in the same manner (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana namely). Then, it really boils down the the kind of people who take them.
For instance, Annie, as tragic that it is that alcoholism swept through the aboriginal peoples you spoke of, there have been many long-standing issues within the culture (much of it due to how their cultured upbringing clashed and was devoured by the pioneers and their descendants all the way up to this day). Even if alcohol wasn't introduced into their lives, they may very well have found some other means to destroy themselves. In northern Ontario, for example, the people sniff gasoline or eat glue. The suicide rate for aboriginal peoples is also very high.
In a lofty, fantasy world, you would have to get a license of sorts in order to consume alcohol or drugs after being assessed by psychiatrists and physicians in order to determine how well your body and mind would handle it, and whether or not your own personal situations would lead to abuse of the substances.
shhh don't take away my irrational outrage
I agree with Artie thats it would be a great idea to tax weed.
the three 'tions baby:
legalization, decriminalization, taxation
Taxing marijuana makes the government responsible for its creation, distribution, and consumption. In other words, it's never going to happen.
Pathetique Wrote:Taxing marijuana makes the government responsible for its creation, distribution, and consumption. In other words, it's never going to happen.
So why are other detrimental things such as alcohol and cigarettes taxed by the government...?
Because they're integral parts of American culture and have existed as such for several centuries.
Pathetique Wrote:Because they're integral parts of American culture and have existed as such for several centuries.
oh yeah, then why isn't there a fried chicken tax smart guy
Bey Brad Wrote:Pathetique Wrote:Because they're integral parts of American culture and have existed as such for several centuries.
oh yeah, then why isn't there a fried chicken tax smart guy
...
I've been so severely owned by this response, I can't even think of a witty retort.
Pathetique Wrote:Because they're integral parts of American culture and have existed as such for several centuries.
Marijuana has been a big part of our culture (albeit not nearly as much) and it's still illegal.
I'm still trying to hear a compelling argument on why the government will not tax marijuana sometime in the future. Just because two other products are part of our culture are not sensible enough.
You seem to not understand the level of significance both tobacco and alcohol have had on the development of this country.
Pathetique Wrote:You seem to not understand the level of significance both tobacco and alcohol have had on the development of this country.
I'm not disagreeing with that, nor is that what we're talking about.
I want a valid reason why the government would not eventually tax marijuana. You yourself brought up the point of culture, so why can't the astigmatism against marijuana change in the near/distant future?
What-ifs don't make a good argument. I can only comment on the current political climate, in which there is no hope for any sort of meaningful marijuana legislation.
Pathetique Wrote:What-ifs don't make a good argument. I can only comment on the current political climate, in which there is no hope for any sort of meaningful marijuana legislation.
While he has thus taken back his comment (obviously for political reasons) Obama was (is?) in support for at the very latest decriminalization of marijuana.
So we'll have to see how the political climate changes over the next few Presidential terms.
With recession and change being the buzz words of this election, there is no way Obama can lose to an aged, stagnant, and uninspiring candidate like McCain. I hope deeply that with an Obama presidency comes the revitalization of this nation, and a restructuring of its decadent legislature.
Perhaps it could be a nudge in the correct direction for marijuana to be accepted in this country. Though, I'm not sure how he could present his case to congress in a manner that a middle ground could be achieved on the issue.
the boomer bourgeoisie sucks qtiyd