Pubdate: Sun, 11 Jul 2010
Source: Central Florida Future (U of Central Florida, FL Edu)
Copyright: 2010 Central Florida Future
Contact: http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/write-the-editor
Website: http://www.centralfloridafuture.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3300

IT'S HIGH TIME TO CHANGE POT LAWS

In light of the new ridiculous state law that makes it a crime to sell
pipes and bongs in Florida, we felt it was an opportune time to
express why we think pipes and bongs should not only be sold anywhere
and everywhere -- it would be profitable for girl scouts to sell bongs
with cookies -- but also why marijuana should be legalized and
decriminalized in the first place.

The new law makes it so that stores may sell bongs or pipes only if
they have a state license to sell tobacco and derive 75 percent of
their revenue from tobacco products or no more than 25 percent from
smoking devices. If lawmakers think this will really curb people from
smoking pot, then they must be high on something strong.

Why not make it illegal to sell anything that could possibly be used
to smoke, like plastic soda bottles? While you're at it, get rid of
aluminum cans, cigarette paper and Sharpies.

Thankfully, there are pending lawsuits to counteract this
insanity.

Instead of focusing on ways to keep people from smoking pot, why not
create some debate in Florida about how beneficial legalizing pot
could be for the state?

Marijuana is just a plant with a chemical in it that makes you feel a
certain way when you smoke it. But to someone dying from cancer, pot
can be one of the few things to make them feel human as they go
through brutal chemotherapy. Instead of backward legislation to ban
smoking devices, we hope Florida can push for medical marijuana
dispensaries.

Unfortunately, this doesn't seem likely to happen any time soon
considering California, a liberal state that's had medical marijuana
dispensaries for some time, has shut down many of its
dispensaries.

Marijuana medical dispensaries will not only create jobs in a weak
economy, but can also spur people to place less of a needless stigma
on smoking pot.

After all, the stuff has proven to be way less dangerous than tobacco
or alcohol. Some act as though this entire country would go crazy if
we decided to legalize pot. But you know what would happen overnight
should it one day become legal in Florida or even in the U.S.?

Absolutely nothing.

Except maybe someone's life wouldn't be ruined should they be caught
with just a small amount of pot on them.

Aside from being able to explore its medical benefits, legalizing pot
could save small farms that are being bought out by big corporations,
help save tax money currently being used to fund our prisons -- there
were more than 840,000 marijuana-related arrests in 2008, according to
drugwarfacts.org -- and can help keep people from worse drugs. We can
take the money out of the hands of drug dealers and put it into a
legitimate American business.

Legalizing pot would make it nothing more than something you can buy
from your local grocer or farmer, and, like cigarettes, it's likely
people will continue to buy it no matter how it's taxed. Think of what
the state could do with that extra tax money. We bet even Tea Partyers
wouldn't care about a high marijuana tax.

Let's sum it up this way, in case you still aren't
sure.

Pot: legalize it, tax it to high heavens, and fix our failing schools.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake