Smugglers disguise marijuana as carrots

[mr_raccoon]

[stinkinbadgers]

@RatMan

That’s one reason I’m not in favor of full legalization here in CA. It won’t really change anything, as long as it’s still federal DEA Schedule 1. All legalization will do is add a third supply channel (along with medical dispensaries and black market/street sales) that will have yet another set of taxes and regulations.

I think I’m the minority here though… its pretty likely to be legalized here after the next election.

I would like to try to change your mind, if only because I don’t want to make the mistake of taking passage for granted, and I’d like to see this pass by as many votes as possible.

This is classic “letting the best be the enemy of the better” thinking. The annoyances of reconciling the current medical mj regime with legalization* have to be weighed with the injustices and costs of prohibition, and I think it should be obvious that there is no comparison. The war on drugs is immoral and unconscionable. Anything that scales it back is a Very Good Thing. While things are moving at the state rather than federal level, every vote lets the fed gov know that there is one more person against the war, and every state that legalizes makes federal prohibition that much more vulnerable. And California will be a huge deal- the west coast will be solid legal, and the sheer size will make federal prohibition in the area impossible. I won’t go out on a limb and say the California alone will tip the scales for the federal prohibition, but California plus a couple of states in the midwest (Ohio, I’m looking at you!) or northeast will. And keeping the ball rolling with California is key to that happening.

I was pissed about prop 19, pissed that there was a bootlegger part of the baptist and bootlegger coalition that defeated it. Just because we are (relatively) awash in availability doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still have a moral imperative to do everything possible to end prohibition.

*I am sympathetic to medical patients that sees a bump up in price due to taxes (and I think this happened in WA) , but in that case then let’s lobby against that tax, not against the prop…

[stinkinbadgers]

Oh, and the subject of weed and carrots can’t help but put this image in my mind:

[Garymon]

@stinkinbadgers

I think this happened in WA

It did and the repercussions are still unfolding. I do agree that the more states that make it legal the more likely we are to see a positive change at the federal level. But what is happening here in Wa. is very frustrating and very unfair. It’s more than just some extra taxes.

When the legalization law was up for a vote, it was sold as medical stays it’s own thing and now there is a whole new separate system for retail. As in medical will be left alone. But slowly the state gov has been making changes, essentially forcing the end of the existing medical system. Meanwhile the new retail system will expand to include medical. Any dispensary that can’t make the jump to the new system (by way of a limited lottery) will be out of business. And the new medical will be nothing like the old medical. Many businesses that have been around for a decade serving the community will be out of business.

I should point out that while Colorado and Oregon at the state level seem to really embrace cannabis. Washington at the state level seems to absolutely hate it’s existence. Sort of like when an older sibling is forced to stay home on a Friday night to babysit their younger sibling. They may comply because they have to but they plan to make every moment misery for that younger sibling. That is the vibe you get here. So all that to say the treatment of medical here could be just our own state’s weird hangup that California won’t see, hopefully.

[Drew_G]

Smugglers “disguise” marijuana as “Carrots”.

Seriously, do they think Border Patrol only hires near-sighted people or something?

[shaddack]

@Drew_G

Smugglers “disguise” marijuana as “Carrots”.

Seriously, do they think Border Patrol only hires near-sighted people or something?

Given that this sort of officials are more often than not just a bunch of petulant children, maybe the logic was that they won’t want to touch their vegetables.

[ZzyzX]

What if you juice these carrots?

[LDoBe]

At the recreational store I go to in Seattle, the cheapest ounce is a big bag of fucking trim, at $160 for 4 quarter ounce bags. For actual flowers, the cheapest it goes is about $260.

Granted they tax the fuck out of recreational marijuana in Washington, and recreational growers can’t get credit, credit card processing, bank accounts, or anything.

[LDoBe]

@RatMan

I think I paid $50 for eight grams of some crazy good indoor-grown White Widow the week before Christmas.

In Seattle at a recreational store, you’d pay somewhere around $150 for that.

[RatMan]

@LDoBe

In Seattle at a recreational store, you’d pay somewhere around $150 for that.

Well, it WAS an extremely good deal, which is why cheapskate me remarked on it. But that’s one reason I’m somewhat wary of full legalization here. This being California, the sin tax will quickly get out of control.

[shaddack]

@RatMan

This being California, the sin tax will quickly get out of control.

The grow-your-own approach won’t disappear if the thing becomes legal.

[logruszed]

I don’t know what the tax is in Oregon yet but I believe 8ths are going for $45 or so.

But like I said the black market stuff is still cheap and easily available.

[RatMan]

@shaddack

The grow-your-own approach won’t disappear if the thing becomes legal.

It may. That’s one of my concerns. There’s been recent legislation passed here in CA that leaves it up to cities and towns how they’ll handle it. Various rinky-dink municipal governments are freaking out about it… many of the towns here in San Diego County have taken the opportunity to ban it completely. See this and this. They’re even trying to ban delivery services, which is just nuts. Are they going to search every car driving around with a pizza delivery box? (That’s the preferred transportation method for a lot of delivery services.)