Correct me if I'm wrong but prop 19 was voted on by the people of California was it not? Colodar's rant against the state and federal govt seems woefully misplaced to me.
How so? If you refer to the fact I'm displeased since I don't live in California, well, you've got me there, but my reasoning, logic and personal opinion still all apply. If you refer to the issue that the people said no, and I mainly railed against the government, which is what I genuinely suspect, I have to strongly disagree. I believe I already mentioned it, but the fact is the government has put forth such a ridiculous propaganda war that it's literally sickening, even more considering how most of it's lies. Look at the propaganda the government put out in the 20s and 30s because the paper industry wanted it banned as hemp was competition to them. The blacks and their jazzy music with pot smoking are stealing our white women. That certainly wasn't the only argument for banning it, but I would argue it was the most significant one. The bottom line is the government banned it in the first place on a campaign based on disinformation and scare tactics. Now that people want it overturned in more liberal states, they are using the same tactics to keep it banned despite the wishes of the people so far as polls and usage indicate.
Since the Reagan war on drugs in particular, the government has put out such vehement disinformation on marijuana that it has absolutely swayed public opinion based on untruths. The whole "gateway" drug argument, which is not only not backed up by studies, but would go away so much more significantly if marijuana weren't sold by the same people selling cocaine and meth, etc. Marijuana leads to hardcore drug abuse about as much as alcohol as far as "I'm getting high, so let me try something harder." The government has simply put forth such a PR campai based on either downright lies or propaganda that I don't believe you cannot say it hasn't swayed public opinion based on incorrect data. But here's the most simple fact on government intervention relating specifically to proposition 19 and thus my rant focusing on government and not accepting the people simply didn't want it. Prop 19 was leading in many polls over the summer. Then the Obama administration came out with the same rhetoric and lies about the evils of marijuana. That wasnt what led to the failure in my opinion though. What did was that they threatened to cause a legal nightmare enforcing federal drug laws, arresting people, causing a legal nightmare in the courts, etc. Then the polls start going down.
Like I said in my first post, I'm a hardcore libertarian on these issues. I don't think the government has a right to say adults can't consume drugs, marijuana or even ecstasy or cocaine or other opiates. I don't think they have a right to say prostitution is illegal either, so long as you don't have women on corners wearing nothing. Obviously thats not the popular opinion, and the majority of Americans want that to continue being illegal. My admitted rant focuses simply on the fact I don't believe the government has a right to arrest adults consenting to do activity in private that doesn't impact the community. When it does, as does drunk driving, arrest them. But that argument isn't going to hold a lot of sway, and I begrudgingly understand why most of those drugs will be illegal despite my wishes to the contrary. But public opinion is clearly in favor of marijuana being legalized in some areas, and it fails in part due to government PR campaigns based on lies, and in part due to government threatening action to scare the people of California into saying it isn't worth it. For the more extreme and unpopular of my legalization opinions, I simply don't believe the majority of people have a right to say what you can and can't do so long as it impacts no one save the individual using. But I understand that it likely will have an impact beyond that person for harder drugs, and thus accept it's continued illegality. But the marijuana issue is totally different since it is such a comparably light drug, far less deadly both to the person using and the community, than alcohol and finally the fact a majority of Americans have experimented with it at some point. The government is trying to keep that illegal despite the wishes of the people in some states, and is succeeding.
So bottom line, I'd be making the argument regardless of whether it was the peoples wish to keep it illegal. But for this instance in particular, it's clearly the government waging a battle to keep it illegal despite the wishes of the people. I don't see how one can argue otherwise when they look at the federal governments campaign against Prop 19.
