We elected you, and neglected US
Jimmy Kimmel lays into obama for ZE POT
After watching both those videos, its easy to see the irony in whats really going on these days. California is known for being one of the most liberal and rich states in the country. On paper, that tends to seem like a bit of a contradiction. However, we have all kinds of natural resources and taxable entities located everywhere from the most northern parts of Cali, all the way down to the borders of Mexico.
In 2010 voters went to the polls to try and fully legalize Marijuana in California (and by fully legalize, I FULLY mean that it would be another grey area in which nobody really understood WTF was going on, just like medical marijuana). However only 10 million voters showed up to voice they’re opinions(im guessing partly because our weed is so good its hard to do anything besides order tacos at a drive thru…). All in all, the bill, even with its flaws was a step in the right direction. Below are some interesting statistics geared towards that 2010 election.
Arguments in favor
If passed by the voters on November 2, 2010, supporters argue that Proposition 19 will:
- Reduce the racial bias in cannabis arrests
- Create between 60,000 and 110,000 new jobs in California
- Generate between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion in new direct tax revenue annually
- Expand California’s economy by between $16 billion and $23 billion annually
- Reduce crime in California
- Reduce violence in California and Mexico
- Free up law enforcement resources to focus on violent crime and property crime.
- Reduce environmental damage to California’s public lands from illegal grow operations.
- Reduce state expenditures by over $200 million in law enforcement costs for arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment of cannabis users.
- Reduce funding to drug cartels, who currently get about 70% of their revenue from illegal cannabis sales
- Reduce police corruption
- Improve the relationship between police and the communities they serve.
Reduce alcohol’s cost to society by allowing adults to choose a safer alternative
Personally, I haven’t smoked weed in a while, what seems like a long while at this point. And after years of partaking, on and off, and with little regard to those in my life, all I can say is, WHO GIVES A FUCK. We have all heard just about every argument possible, both for and against. By both people who partake religiously, and by those who “haven’t” ever touched the stuff. And in the end, the simple fact of the matter is that 86% of the federal prison population is comprised of VICTIMLESS CRIMES. And of that over %51 of those people are drug related. This, in the end, equates too around %2 of the population being behind bars for making life choices that don’t directly affect anyone else.
Even more troublesome(and a true dichotomy of our legal system and the profit behind it) is that a total of %5 of the population is in some sort of legal observation, be it probation, drug counseling, or incarceration. The last public figure we have, in 2007, was that over $228 billion dollars was spent on drug related police, incarceration, and corrections( a figure that has unquestionably grown, and will continue to do so at an exponential pace if nothing is changed).
So in summation, the point i’m really trying to convey is that WE NEED, WE MUST, and WE HAVE TO come to some sort of compromise. As a nation, we cant be so divided in EVERYTHING. WE CANT have a right and a left wing anymore. WE CANT have public policies affected by people that have hidden agenda’s and are indebted to those that got them elected. WE JUST CANT. SO even though your vote doesn’t “count”, lets all show up and vote for the least likely candidate that we believe in and see what happens(And no, that doesn’t mean me, I’m clearly not intelligent enough, and FAR TOO PERSIAN to ever be considered, but thanks anyways!!).
No better/more hilarious way to spend 24 minutes of your life, I PROMISE!!
Related articles
- The Battle Over Marijuana Headed To Reality TV In “Weed Country” (thcfinder.com)
- Pot-legalization Activists Aim for 2016 Ballot in California (hispanicbusiness.com)
- Paul Armentano: It’s Time For The Obama Administration To Acknowledge That Marijuana Prohibition Doesn’t Work (huffingtonpost.com)
