Your Take on Marijuana Reform

Marijuana Reform has gained much momentum over the past few months. It's speculation that this is due to the current turmoil our economy is in.

What's your stance on marijuana reform? Also please notate any experiences (non-incriminating), and so on if you will.

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Permalink Reply by brian weaver on July 22, 2009 at 7:47pm

maybe medical purposes.and if they need to have it then the wouldnt be fighting fires anyways.

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Levitsky on July 22, 2009 at 8:11pm

If you got burned on the job would you think it wrong for a doctor to have you smoke marijuana instead of taking vikadin for pain management? Assuming marijuana was an appropriate pain management tool for the burns of course. How many people get hooked on oxycodone and vikadin? Marijuana is not chemically addictive so I would think it would be a more attractive tool where appropriate. Just saying I hope at least as a medical option it should be ok if a medical doctor thinks it appropriate. But I also believe in the work done with LSD so maybe I am a bit more flexible on what is medically acceptable than some.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on July 22, 2009 at 8:13pm

Today, the California Board of Equalization (BOE) released its analysis of state Assembly Bill 390 - legislation that would tax and regulate marijuana.

According to the report, the BOE would collect $1.38 billion annually in new revenue from the sales of legal marijuana, if the legislation is approved. The analysis is based on research that indicates that Californians annually consume about 1 million pounds of marijuana.

$990 million would be generated from a $50/ounce excise tax and would be earmarked for state drug education and treatment programs. An additional $392 million collected in sales tax would go into the state general fund. This report does not address the potential hundreds of millions in criminal justice savings that would be realized if California stopped arresting nonviolent adults for marijuana.

These figures should be raising some eyebrows under California’s capitol dome today as the governor and state legislators are attempting to hammer out a solution to the state’s record $26 billion budget deficit...

As mentioned in a prior post, California is expected to legalize this stuff for the purposes of getting more money into the state coffers. I just want to get a paycheck, and don't really care how they do it personally.

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Permalink Reply by Fire Critic on July 22, 2009 at 8:38pm

If they legalize it, roll me one big fat one.

I will keep the hey duuuudes to a minimum as long as you feed me.

I promise to write poetry more and start singing.

Oh, and if I remember I won't do it on the job...much.

JUST KIDDING GUYS.

If it were legalized you would have to look at it like other legal substances. Tobacco and Alcohol are forbidden on duty. Tobacco is not allowed by many localities at all. I am sure they would work up policies on it and I am also sure that the localities which ban tobacco would ban marijuana as well. If they cut out drinking (off duty) I quit!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on July 22, 2009 at 8:54pm

first off FC, your avatar is awesome, love the graphic work... and secondly, I don't think this discussion focused on firefighters smoking a fat one... I was under the impression that it was looking at the monetary benefits for the legalization for city, county and state tax coffers if it was. the latest email from my department heads told us that we should forget about asking for anything unless it is personally approved by the on duty chief... it's time to think outside of the box. to not do so will result in layoffs, station closures, longer response times, and a reduction in service. and as mentioned, you and I won't get a paycheck, assuming your a career firefighter... this is not a good thing, trust me on this one.

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Permalink Reply by Fire Critic on July 22, 2009 at 9:01pm

Thanks Captain Busy,

I may have missed the boat on this thread then.

We are in the same boat. We continue to lose while our City Council continues to spend money they say they don't have on "special" projects.

I hadn't really thought about the potential for income in taxes for the City though. I have always maintained that to get it right it would take years to legalize the right way. It seems as though it is too far out of reach. I guess I have always figured that if it were easy and beneficial to legalize it it would have already been done.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on July 22, 2009 at 9:06pm

the city where I live has 28 dispensaries... a buddy of mine owns one and told me that when he looked at the sign in register, there was a new person every 2 minutes... they are open for 12 hours... do the math... and currently, all this cash is not being taxed. this is certainly a cash cow for government entities... just watch California in the next five years... Ka Ching!

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Permalink Reply by Al (olddogg) Westbrook on July 22, 2009 at 9:22pm

Josh,
"Scar Face"-Al Capone became a Big Time Crime Boss in Chicago during the Proabition days ,when beer and alcohol was made illegal-The Feds got him on Tax fraud and He died with his brain all rotted by syphilis in prison . Don't forget all the murders that happened during that time as well .
Banning Alcohol was a stupid thing for our government to do .