Marijuana Legalization

Those are almost all outside what I mean by "good" wars. Most fail at least one of my 2 criteria and it's not a win when you have to declare victory and walk away, either. Yes, they can be viewed as lost/wasted money, I suppose. Viewing them as what they are - lost lives - is a more sobering experience.

I think many political leaders of nations (including U.S.) have been "just busting" for a "good" war - a "justifiable" war they can win - from the moment of their election. Winning a "just" war cements their hold - even if they have never spent a single day of their own lives in military service. Very unfair. Sad.

J.

 

confusion in Indiana

Did Indiana legalize cannabis? Yes. Kind of. Maybe.

 

Legal gambling and prostitution aren't enough for Nevada. They are about to pioneer the nation's first marijuana lounges, licensed on-site dope bars.

Nevada could be first state to set up marijuana lounges | TheHill

 

It reminds me of the "milk bars" in Clockwork Orange.

 

if Orrin Hatch is in on it then you know it's hit the mainstream

Orrin Hatch loves a weed pun, apparently

 

why harsh your buzz by getting off the couch?

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/eaze-moving-recreational-marijuana-delivery-120024090.html

 

Indeed - "the old moloko with the knives in it." I remember it well. One of my best reads of the 1960s. Never saw the movie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloko_Plus

Some later copycat versions of the Korova (Cow) Milk Bar here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korova_Milk_Bar

J.

 

One of my favorite movies!

 

The book was so good, - and so cleverly written with the Russian-laced English - that I was afraid the movie might spoil the vibe for me. Never saw it.

J.

 

You never saw it! It's a good movie, watch it sometime!

 

Here's a story about a whole lot of fentanyl

Record bust: 270 pounds of drugs seized in Queens, Bronx | New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV

 

Geez! That's some deadly shit! Not even cops are supposed to touch that stuff. You could inhale a little bit and end up in the hospital!

 

Re: A Clockwork Orange:

The book came out in 1962. I read it a couple of years later. Unforgettable. Couldn't put it down - maybe it was partly because I was around 21 at the time and I kind of knew how Alex felt. The movie didn't come out until 1971 and I never saw it. Movies have ruined a lot of really good books for me, e.g. "A Beautiful Mind," the story of mathematician John Nash. I prefer not to let movies ruin things for me, nowadays. I haven't been in a movie theatre for WELL over 20 years and don't have NETFLIX (or even cable) -even though I could easily afford such things if I wanted them. I prefer to buy books.

J.

 

The book came out in 1962. I read it a couple of years later. The movie didn't come out until 1971. Movies have ruined a lot of really good books for me, e.g. "A Beautiful Mind," the story of mathematician John Nash. I prefer not to let movies ruin things for me, nowadays. I haven't been in a movie theatre for WELL over 20 years and don't have NETFLIX (or even cable).

J.

 

roadside sobriety test? nope

Court: Roadside drunken driving tests not valid for pot

 

The Nov 2016 California state initiative that legalized recreational marijuana calls for legal retail sales starting January 1, 2018. That date is rapidly approaching. Most of the state government in Sacramento seems to be moving at a snail's pace. Regulations almost certainly won't be ready by the deadline. But sales are due to start, regulations or not.

The law the voters passed gives localities (cities and counties) the option of placing additional restrictions on marijuana businesses in addition to statewide regulations, or even the option of banning marijuana businesses outright.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, localities have been rushing madly to ban marijuana businesses. Despite that fact that the legalization initiative won easily around here (even I voted for it), there's a tremendous amount of 'NIMBY-ism', especially in the more upscale communities. They fear that 'dispensaries' will attract low-lifes like flies. Nobody wants that right after they paid $1.5 million for a small suburban tract house.

But then there's Berkeley. (There's always Berkeley...) Berkeley sees an opportunity to become the center of Northern California's marijuana industry, attracting business from all over this half of the state. So they say sure, the more dispensaries that want to open there, the better. (The businesses will be taxed within an inch of their lives of course.)

So that seems to be how things are shaping up around here. I can imagine the TV advertising jingle - 'Buy your buds in Berkeley'.

Other places that look to be headed towards legalizing 'dispensaries' are San Diego (!!!) and Abner's own Santa Ana.

Berkeley among first cities ready to sell legal cannabis in California Jan. 1

 

If they make no bones about selling it for recreational purposes (versus medicinal), then they're going to attract the attention of the Federal government like moths to a flame.

You can't collect and pay taxes on an illegal product (as marijuana still is under the United States Code), so if these entrepreneurs think they're going to fly under the radar of the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, I think they're in for the most shocking surprises of their lives. There's no better way to piss of the Feds than to not pay taxes.

 

Long ago I read that you're supposed to report to the IRS any gains on illegal gambling. Losses not deductible.

 

Retail marijuana businesses have been legal and operating openly in Colorado since January 2014. There haven't been any mass arrests yet.

Nevada has just opened retail marijuana 'dispensaries' and no mass arrests there either.

I don't expect mass arrests to ever happen. I expect these businesses have been and will continue to file their federal taxes just as other small businesses do.