Atlanta’s highways and the drug trade (Washington: DMV, live)

[brownhornet]

Originally Posted by Caleb Longstreet

Just some thoughts on legalizing pot. Try to remember, some strains of pot have anywhere from a 13-32% THC content? This is NOTHING like the lung burning shake your parents used to irritate their throats with. I'm not sure I want I-285 25% full of drivers under the influence of anything to include pot. Driving impairment is just that, impairment. You can have a beer or two and maintain. Try having a hit or two of island madness and you are cooked....for hours.....
Be it alcohol, pot, pills, whatever, it puts others at risk and therefore ends your right to gamble with their lives. Get over it. Ain't going to happen. It's a laughable argument and you know it.

Taxes. This is fools gold. Prime example is smoking. Tax revenues pulled in from tobacco in 2009 was slightly over a billion....with a b. sounds like a lot, doesn't it? It is. However, that very same year, we spent 16 BILLION treating patients with tobacco related illnesses. Putting hot smoke into ones lungs damages the cilia lining and passageways as much as any irritant. Couple that with a thick resin residue and it can't be good over time. Just can't. You can't make this math work. At least cigarettes do not impair driving, just the scent of their clothes. No, taxing pot will never, ever offset the cost to treat the respiratory illnesses that will follow some few decades later. Try again. It's a bad argument. And as far as taxes taking the incentive to grow out is not true. The minute the cost rises high enough due to taxes, black market pot will enter. It's easy to grow and distribute pot. Alcohol? Not so much. It's too tempting so this anticipated windfall of revenue is a myth. Market forces would make a government program either sell it dirt cheap thus lowering the taxes or, induce black market pot by raising the price. Just can't win in the herb market. Won't happen.

Finally, the alcohol argument. Alcohol is much, much easier to control. God knows the trouble it causes and without a doubt, is the most widely abused drug in America, however it IS tightly controlled and unless you buy moonshine, the quality and relative proofing and safety of product are clear. Now, open that up to everyone's backyard. Quality and distribution would be a free for all. You, the consumer will never, ever really know what they are getting. And most won't care if it has mites or chemicals laden in the pot for increased potency.

Legalizing pot for any of these reasons fails on paper. Save legal pot for truly medicinal purposes of alieving pain for the truly suffering I have no problem with. It's compassionate and can be controlled. I'm not all that concerned about someone having a few puffs in their house and staying put anymore than those who have a few drinks. Just be responsible. Don't drive and put yourself and others at risk. You don't have that many rights.

Legalization while interesting just doesn't make sense.

So many fails in this post

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by pignchick

Are you serious? Alcohol is legal but drinking and driving is illegal... same laws can apply for being stoned and driving.

Also taxes. Some taxes collected are better than no taxes collected. Currently, drug enforcement is just an expenditure.

I think you and the guy above didn't catch my message. Alcohol is bad too. However, the dosing, if you will, in alcohol is overtly consistent. Inhaling pot is anything but precise. You can't really moderate it. Most people handle it very well. Most drinkers handle theirs really well too. But, just because you think you can drive, a blood alcohol content may prove you wrong.

Remember, you don't have to be drunk or completely stoned to be a nuisance. You only have to be impaired. Same with those on certain meds. It's not a war against pot, it's a debate on impairments. Besides, traffic is bad enough already, we don't need the streets full of drivers going 20mph below the speed limit, waiting at stop signs waiting for them to change, or taking 5 minutes trying to remember what they were going to do next or where they are supposed to go. America is full of people stuck in first gear. Don't tempt any more of them.

[atltechdude]

Originally Posted by Caleb Longstreet

You can't really moderate it.

Totally false.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Caleb Longstreet

I think you and the guy above didn't catch my message. Alcohol is bad too. However, the dosing, if you will, in alcohol is overtly consistent. Inhaling pot is anything but precise. You can't really moderate it. Most people handle it very well. Most drinkers handle theirs really well too. But, just because you think you can drive, a blood alcohol content may prove you wrong.

I'm not sure that's correct, Caleb.

In any event, driving under the influence of marijuana should be treated the same as driving under the influence of alcohol. I'd put texting in there, too. Impaired is impaired, period.

[rzzzz]

How do you know how much THC you are getting when you smoke? With alcohol it's written right there on the bottle. That is the main practical impediment to legalizing weed right now. I know a group in Denver is working on this but knowing what I know about drug research it will take decades get a system worked out.

It brings up an interesting point, if you are busted for driving while impaired but you aren't drunk, what are you charged with and how is it proven? With weed they can obviously tell if you've been smoking in the car, but what if you just took too much pain medication? I have read on websites that a blood test can be issued, but I have never heard of this actually happening.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by rzzzz

How do you know how much THC you are getting when you smoke?

How many people drink mixed drinks at a bar or club and have no idea what the real amount of alcohol is in the stuff they've been imbibing?

It brings up an interesting point, if you are busted for driving while impaired but you aren't drunk, what are you charged with and how is it proven? With weed they can obviously tell if you've been smoking in the car, but what if you just took too much pain medication? I have read on websites that a blood test can be issued, but I have never heard of this actually happening.

In most states, blood alcohol level is enough for a DUI/DWI charge, isn't it? Actual impairment level isn't measured at all except informally by walking a line, etc.

[ATL_II_DMV]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I don't have a dog in this fight, as I don't really care if marijuana is legal or not.

However, if you want to talk about profoundly unsound logic, comparing the U.S. to Jamaica is about as unsound as it gets.

Jamaica is one of the most dangerous places on earth. It has an extremely high murder rate. Besides, marijuana is illegal there, so how is the comparison even valid?

I always find it humorous to see the crazy arguments and statistics that the marijuana legalization crowd comes up with. I actually had a guy tell me one time that marijuana smokers are as persecuted as Jews during the Holocaust.

Here's a newsflash: already nobody cares if you smoke weed. Just be smart. If you don't know where to get it, you aren't looking very hard. If you get caught with it, you are a fool. Even though marijuana is illegal, its use is already widespread and commonly accepted. I can see how legalization might make sense as just a principle, but I don't get why some people are so vocal about it. Do you really think your life is going to change drastically if it becomes legal? Is it that hard to get now? Too expensive? Aside from the moral high ground, what's the actual advantage to legalization? And I mean for you personally, not the idea that it can be taxed because I know you don't actually care about that, it's just an excuse. For you personally, how would your life change if it was all of a sudden legal? Let's assume it is legal the same way in places like the Netherlands where you still can't just smoke in the street or buy it at 7-11.

I think the US should have a policy to set up red light districts in this country. It's been proven that places, like the Netherlands, where drugs are legalized in certain zones, that crime is very low.

The problem is that the US doesn't have a policy to tax drugs and regulate usage. There are also too many conservatives that won't use common sense or logic when it comes to drug regulation.

Statistics show that legalizing drug use eventually lowers crime and murder among rival drug gangs, people overdosing on drugs from improper usage, and raises tax money generated by a countrys government.

It's not an overnight process, but I believe legalizing drugs would benefit the country and eliminate some of the problems occurring due to the illegal drug trade.

[researchnerd]

Originally Posted by Caleb Longstreet

I think you and the guy above didn't catch my message. Alcohol is bad too. However, the dosing, if you will, in alcohol is overtly consistent. Inhaling pot is anything but precise. You can't really moderate it. Most people handle it very well. Most drinkers handle theirs really well too. But, just because you think you can drive, a blood alcohol content may prove you wrong.

Remember, you don't have to be drunk or completely stoned to be a nuisance. You only have to be impaired. Same with those on certain meds. It's not a war against pot, it's a debate on impairments. Besides, traffic is bad enough already, we don't need the streets full of drivers going 20mph below the speed limit, waiting at stop signs waiting for them to change, or taking 5 minutes trying to remember what they were going to do next or where they are supposed to go. America is full of people stuck in first gear. Don't tempt any more of them.

The argument that weed should not be legalized because consumption can't be moderated is not valid. First, it can be moderated to a certain extent. Second, while it's true that dosage is not precise, neither is alcohol dosage, or prescription medication dosage, given the varying metabolism of individuals.

Regardless, there's no debate on impairments. I think everyone agrees that driving while impaired is unsafe, and it is in fact already illegal. Legalizing possession does not equal legalizing impaired driving.

[rzzzz]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

How many people drink mixed drinks at a bar or club and have no idea what the real amount of alcohol is in the stuff they've been imbibing?



In most states, blood alcohol level is enough for a DUI/DWI charge, isn't it? Actual impairment level isn't measured at all except informally by walking a line, etc.

I wasn't very clear. What I meant was, even if the person doesn't know how much they drink, the cops can find out with a breathalyzer. If you're driving funny and get pulled over, and you are obviously impaired, but are on oxycontin, for which there is no on-the-spot check, what do you get charged with? Reckless driving? Or do you just walk the line and get charged with DUI, but not alcohol?

[ATL_II_DMV]

lol @ the peole using the consumption argument, that's why the law is called DUI. Even right now, you will be arrested if a police officer thinks you're driving under the influence of marijuana or any illegal drug.

Legalizing weed will not cause a bunch of people to drive around impaired and running over kids on bicycles like those phony commercials display, trust me.