If Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and the Legislature need some easy money, they might check out the “untapped source of revenue” reported by the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, which recently claimed that Kansas has the nation’s 31st largest marijuana production among states, estimated at $64 million of the nation’s total $35.8 billion crop. (That compares with $23.3 billion for corn and $7.4 billion for wheat.) But don’t hold your breath. (Or inhale.)
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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68 Comments
Or marijuana could be decriminalized and the state could save a ton of cash in pointless investigations, prosecutions and incarcerations for victimless crimes. It would also add a lovely cash crop in the way of the cultivation of hemp. However these are practical solutions to economic concerns and the Kansas government doesn’t care much for common sense.
I’m for the legalization. I think most people are anymore.
Save your money and grow your own home supply, like I do. The risk is very real, but if you do your homework and take care of planning & security, you can minimize it. I wish Kansas would become a compassionate state with meical marijuana laws so I can grow my medicine legally, but the reality is Kansas never will.
Sadly, as long as thre’s a profit to be made on the black market, marijuana will NEVER be legalized (or decriminalized). Furthermore, busting growers and users is a huge cash cow; do some checking into ‘asset forfeiture’ and you’ll see how deep the rabbit hole really goes.
The really sick thing? Cannabis (wild hemp/ditchweed) grows wild everywhere in Kansas. In fact, it was widely grown during WW2. But hemp apparently competes too well with certain big industries…or something. Far smarter folks than me have already written lots about the issue.
I’m a consenting single adult and I haven’t bothered a soul. I’m not a criminal- I’m a gardener. I enjoy growing pretty flowers, and okay, I occasionally enjoy smoking them to alleviate pain (and to get high too, hey- just bein’ honest here)- why is that so very wrong? Why is it anyone’s business at all in the first place?
Legalizing the local production marijuana would end foreign drug trafficking of it to America because the price would be so low. Of course this would compete with the drug companies (who produce drugs with worse side effects) and the tobacco companies. The competition bribes, err lobbies, politicians to keep the subsidies flowing.
justme, brave you are. Just put a neon sign to your house next time that says HOME GROWER HERE.
lol.
“High” political_mom:
I’ve been growing in the same place for 17 years, without a single problem. First, I don’t sell to ANYONE, ever. Second, I make sure there are no light leaks or odors/sounds ‘escaping’. I pay all my bills on time, I pay my taxes, I mow my yard and keep it looking nice, and I work fulltime. I’m also friendly with my neighbors, and am not a troublemaker by any means.
Heck, you might live right next door to me, but you’ll never suspect what’s growing in my closet. The cops? Pah- they’ve got better things to do, like hunt down REAL criminals. I’m just growing happy flowers, for pete’s sake. :)
PS- just in case good ole Uncle Leo is reading this, with delusions of coming after me: Good luck; you’ll have lots of fun getting a warrant. ^__^
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A little herb…? First hand, I saw my step son go from an honor roll student to a drop out in less than 2 years..after he discovered the ‘little herb’. He lost his ambition, his interest, his goals.
Legalized alcohol creates more social problems than we can count.. do we REALLY want to add to that nightmare by removing any legal prohibitions on another drug?
raptor – your points are real but I think overstated. I think that there is a % of us who will become abusers; the only difference with legalization of grass will be the ‘drug of choice’ of the user. I don’t think we would see an increase in total numbers.
I say legalize under similar terms as alcohol. That includes allowing ‘home-brew’ for personal use.
Package and sell it as you would a pack of cigarettes. Monitor the THC content and post on the package as you do the proof on alcohol. 21 or over to buy. Still illegal to drive while (or after) using. Tax the living hell out of it. Make it around $25 per pack with about $22 per pack going to tax.
I haven’t heard of anyone smoking a quarter ounce and starting a bunch of fights. Quite the opposite. But someone who drinks a 1/5 of tequila?
A little herb…? First hand, I saw my step son go from an honor roll student to a drop out in less than 2 years..after he discovered the ‘little herb’. He lost his ambition, his interest, his goals
What happened to him later?
Tax the living hell out of it. Make it around $25 per pack with about $22 per pack going to tax.
Nope, won’t work. The government merely replaces the dealer. People still make moonshine, after all, and you are proposing artifically elevating the price of something evern more than the price of alcohol is artifically elevated by taxation.
Also, legalization won’t work. You’re destroying a $100 billion business. That would be like losing Ford and GM in one swoop.
Hey Raptor. Maybe you should check your parenting skills a little. I know it’s easy to blame your sons problems on pot, but maybe, just maybe, you should take a long look in the mirror. You might see the problem staring you right in the face.
Raptor’s got it about right. The only thing I wonder about is which is the chicken and egg, in many cases: Does the pot make you lazy and stupid, or do the lazy and stupid gravitate to pot?
You’re all kidding, right? Hahaha, the joke’s on me. I started reading this thinking it possibly had some value. Now, I’m checking the calendar to see if it’s April 1.
We’re not going to legalize pot.
Those of you that grow it and/or smoke it may think it’s not addictive and not harmful and not cancer causing and not degrading to society and….
Massive amounts of research data correlates otherwise, and I’m far more likely to believe medical professionals vs. blog drug addicts.
Who said pot makes you lazy and stupid? Our drug Czar? Looks like the war on drugs is being won right here on we blog. Bunch of funny naive people here with the exception of maybe political_mom and a couple others.
“Massive amounts of research data correlates otherwise”
No golfer, I think the massive research evidence shows that pot is much less bad than alcohol and is not clinically addictive.
oh god trust me Testicles, I’d rather be around stoned people than drunkards anyday.
All you’ve heard has been propaganda against pot. Doctors don’t think it’s all that bad anymore either and actually has worthy uses.
Oh and I haven’t smoked pot in over 13 years. It just isn’t worth risking to me.
But I know you partake of drinking on a regular basis….but here you wanna talk shit on those who smoke a little weed?
I think drunks are worse than crackheads.
I don’t see a problem with it.
However I can’t see Kansas being the first to pass ground breaking legislation. Good luck with that.
I think drunks are worse than crackheads.
Posted by: political_mom | December 28, 2006 at 10:07 AM
You did mean to say potheads right?
PeeMom,”Oh and I haven’t smoked pot in over 13 years. It just isn’t worth risking to me.”
umm, I thought there was no risk.
PeeMom,”talk shit”???
You really ARE straight from the trailer park, aren’t you?
It’s not the Pot that hurts young people. It’s the culture that surrounds some people who use it. Some people are drawn to it, some arent.
“Massive amounts of research data correlates otherwise”
Bullshit alert!
Those medical professionals get a kickback from prescribing a chemical monstrosity. Marijuana/Cannabis would alleviate much of the problem with no real side effect except temporary inebriation.
E.G. it would cut into the profits of the drug companies and doctors…
If you actually, stupidly, believe simply everything “medical professionals” tell you.. Then you are delusional beyond all.
And no I don’t smoke the stuff. :)
Risking legally Testicles, god you really are stupid aren’t you.
*grin*
The trailer park assessment stands. =)
I do not currently use marijuana but would be all in favor of legalization.
Heckler – VERY good point “culture that surrounds … ”
That is one of the reasons I favor legalization; remove the supply from the current undergrounf sources. From what I have seen oevr the years is that it will be much like alcohol now – many people will use with no ill effect; a small fraction will have problems. However, everything I have read tells me it is less bad than alcohol; also that we won’t have ‘new’ abusers but rather simply a switch from one to another drug.
Is there an accepted meaning for the phrase, “one toke over the line”? I had that Brewer and Shipley album back in the day – but it was clear to me from the context what that was supposed to mean.
“wasn’t” clear…
“Cannabis Sativa” one of many natures herbs with medicinal purposes. This herb has wonderful medicinal properties and is why it is being pushed through our legal system state by state for medical needs. It is only a matter of time in which our federal government will abide by the will of the people. Because of the wide variety of uses for medicinal needs, adults will be able to get there prescription to self medicate as needed.
Nutz,Massive amounts of research? It’s never been done. The DEA controls all research into marijuana, and simply doesn’t allow studies that might contradict their position that marijuana was invented by Satan. That’s why so little is known about it’s possible medical uses.
Wow, interesting topic to appear today. I made a bet with my lawyer yesterday that Kansas would legalize marijuana before they would reform our alcohol laws into something sane.
I bet him that someone could legally smoke a joint on main street before the liquor distributors gave up their hold on 6 percent beer and wine.
Money talks, and our insane alcohol laws make money for some people who have a DEATH grip on the Kansas legislature. Campaign contributions, dontcha know. Look it up.
Heheheheh. I am also reminded of a Drew Carey joke.
“You know why pot isnt legal today? Because dope smokers just dont get to the voting booth as often as they intend.”
rimshot please
They always get distracted on election day, like by a new cartoon or the Jack in the Box next door.
VOTE THE BASTIDS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!
A ninety some year old guy told me about living in a town that made alcohol illegal even after the repeal of prohibition. The town had it’s booze connections that were feuding criminals. The solution to getting rid of the criminals was to finally sell liquor over the counter and drive the criminals out of business. Then reap the taxes from the legal sale. Everyone who drinks is not an alcoholic. Everyone who smokes is not an addict. There are those cases, but I would like to have my occasional margarita and let the alcoholics live with themselves. Any drug, legal or not, can be abused. Is benedryl an antihistamine or a sleep aid? Is ritalin a help for ADHD or is it just speed? People abuse food for crying out loud. Does that make food bad for everyone?
Steven,
I don’t know about any accepted meaning for ‘one toke over the line’…I’ve never been a pot smoker…but I’ve always liked the song. I can’t remember when I realized what it referred to either, but I think it was some time after it came out. Whatever, it’s a good one!
SoWhat, I agree. Are we going to legislate every addiction known to man? That would keep them busy into the next millenium.
And, gee, another RD who understands herbal meds. Interesting. Does this mean I need to change my nic?
I’m thinking the other RD might be a poster from far away who wouldn’t post often enough to warrant a change. I have noticed before when cannabis is the topic people from all over have something to say. Makes me wonder if they have web crawler search engines finding places for them to post. I know that such software exists and I’ve known people who were interested in various public service endeavors use it.
MJ will never, ever be legalized in America, even if a state passes it’s own MJ laws. The federal gov’t has assured us of this by harrassing legal medical MJ users and removing licenses to practice medicine from doctors prescribing the stuff in CA. It should be legalized and treated just like alcohol, which every study ever conducted on the subject has shown to be infinitely more harmful to human beings than MJ. MJ *may* help you contract cancer (it cannot even be proven that cigarettes cause cancer). When abused, alcohol *will* kill you, period. That is 100% fact and 100% proven. We are reminded of this every year when fraternity members die during drinking binges on campuses all across the USA.
All we have to do is look to Amsterdam for evidence of what happens when MJ is legalized in society. It’s the perfect testing ground and all of the evidence points to one thing and one thing only: legalizing marijuana has had nothing but positive results.
http://www.mpp.org
Ah the potheads. They need to feel they can get high or down artificially.
and the chemical of the day is…
“We are reminded of this every year when fraternity members die during drinking binges on campuses all across the USA.”
Would you deny that alcohol poisoning is greatly facilitated when the drinker is also intoxicated on cannabis? The cannabis serves to lessen the drinkers nausea and vomiting – thus enabling him or her to keep the alcohol on board longer which can then have fatal effects.
So can Pepto Bismol – better criminalize that!
Marijuana is as probably as harmful to society as alchohol is and its legal. I say legalize it and tax the living hell out of it.
Would you deny that alcohol poisoning is greatly facilitated when the drinker is also intoxicated on cannabis? The cannabis serves to lessen the drinkers nausea and vomiting – thus enabling him or her to keep the alcohol on board longer which can then have fatal effects.
b.s.: we drinkers and pot smokers call beers “potentiators.” If you use both drugs simultaneously, you tend to use both of each less. Another reason to legalize pot.
Ah! Now this is a topic worthy of my opinion. Your humble Crusader has experience with the Cannabis plant, I smoked every two weeks on average with my younger cousin who used to sell the stuff. He sold it around Westchester and gave the cops a cut to help them become “oblivious” to the fact of his “transactions.”LOL!
Smoking pot was the most euphoric thing Ihave ever experienced. It was better than sex, and it was like being touched by the hand of God. My cousin vidoetaped me, and your humble Crusader while making a complete ass of myself by singing Nat King Cole songs, eating 3 corndogs, half a bottle of maple syrup and a whole pumpkin pie while laughing hysterically, I did not become violent or irritable. I never became addicted to the stuff, since it’s been 2 years since I last rolled a blunt. My cousin quit too and is now working to get his GED, he’s 20 years old.
I’m thinking the other RD might be a poster from far away who wouldn’t post often enough to warrant a change. I have noticed before when cannabis is the topic people from all over have something to say. Makes me wonder if they have web crawler search engines finding places for them to post. I know that such software exists and I’ve known people who were interested in various public service endeavors use it.
No, it’s because a whole shitload of people use pot, and are tired of risking jail time, job loss, and persecution for it, especially since the laws make NO sense
Ok Will, I never felt touched by God, but I do remember me and my buddies standing for 10 minutes watching muffins bake and laughing our butts off. We all stood in a row bent over just watching them rise lol. I think we made like 10 pans of muffins that night!
Oh those were good times!
Mom,I have seen stories about drunk people going on a rampage and running over someone in a bar parking lot just because someone looked at them wrong.All I’ve seen pot smokers kill is a pizza. :)
“So can Pepto Bismol – better criminalize that!”
I am not taking the position that since cannabis can facilitate alcohol poisoning, it should be criminalized. Instead, the simplistic alcohol=bad and pot=good rhetoric gets a little old and when one looks at the facts it is not so simple.
I’ll admit, I am a little radical. I don’t think SMOKING anything, be it tobacco, pot, or crack – makes much sense as a long term health strategy. You can do what you want if you’re willing to accept the risks, but don’t tell me it is completely harmless.
[/Rant] – return to your bong, Huie. Note: a joke :-)As Angry Johnny and the Killbillys say “Everything is a joke.”
People who do drugs of any kind are just throw dollars down the toliet.
I don’t have any idea what this costs, but I would think better use of the dollars could be made, including charity.
I can’t see saying to someone, sorry I can’t contribute to the Orphan’s home, I need to buy a half gallon of Jack Daniels or a lit’er of marijuana.
That’s just wrong and rationalization at its maximum.
Steven, please don’t get so hung up on the ’smoke’ factor. It does NOT have to be smoked to be effective. Marijuana can alternatively be eaten, vaporized or taken in ground pill form.
Furthermore, why not talk to some AIDS and cancer MMJ patients before condemning them?
JM, I don’t throw any dollars down the toilet by growing my own safe supply. I avoid the black market and the criminal element for doing something as natural as growing tomatoes. Think before typing, please.
JM: do you do anything for pleasure? Just throwing money down the toilet.
Those cancer patients suffering through chemotherapy and want to relieve their symptoms are just throwing money down the toilet.
Right-wingers are mentally deficient. And KSGolfNut, you are beyond the pale. You are a sick, disgusting individual. Please burn in hell. Trash.
“Steven, please don’t get so hung up on the ’smoke’ factor. It does NOT have to be smoked to be effective.”
Let us get real here. The most effective penetration with respect to the blood/brain barrier, occurs when one smokes pot. I, believe it or not, have been to a rodeo, or two, before, okay?
I am not an enemy of cannabis, but your mindless advocacy makes me rather sick to my stomach. Surely, you all can do better.
Crap, everything is bad for you. If you stayed away from anything that could cause you potential harm, you would be living under your bed. Even then, the dust mites would probably kill you.
You can live life or you can let life kill you.
In the end, we all die.
In the meantime, try to live like you’re not afraid to die.
WSC,Of course, life is a risk factor for death … have anything else to contribute?
Well, SD, if you would care to debate the validity of legal alcohol v. legal cannibas, I would be more than up for it, but if you have bothered to read any of my previous post, you might not be so quick to dismiss me.
I am not quite the fool that you may think I am.
“I am not quite the fool that you may think I am.”
I don’t recall ever saying that. I will read your posts tomorrow, when I have more time.
I have enjoyed reading your posts, WSC. I am not sure why you are interested in making our exchanges into such a big deal…
Let’s start with a simple question, SD.
What are the documented health hazard of marijuana use?
Now, what are the documented health hazards of alcohol use?
Given the correct answers, which substance should be legal?
“have anything else to contribute?”
Damn right I do……
Steven, getting hostile doesn’t help matters; this is supposedly a discussion among adults. And frankly, it’s a discussion we as a society SHOULD be having.
Why is cannabis illegal in the first place?
I’d love to use my real name and address here, but I can’t (for obvious reasons). Please note that my “name” and email addy are both fake, but I am a real live person behind the screen. I am not a troll, nor a troublemaker, but this is a topic that is near & dear to me….so forgive me for stickin’ to it.
I stand by what I’ve said: it doesn’t HAVE to be smoked to be effective. But whether it’s smoked or jammed up the hoo-haw, does it really matter?
The bottom line is that responsible adults should have the right to use it as they see fit (use =/= abuse, btw).
Psst- you might have been to a rodeo or two, but c’mon- I know ‘bull’ when I see it. ^__^
Not using any kind of web crawler Steve-O. Just a click away from stating a fact about “CANNIBIS SATIVA”. Where are you going with, “a poster from far away who wouldn’t post often enough to warrant a change”, “various public service endeavors”? By the way, not only is this natural plant good for medicinal needs, its cousin “HEMP” is “KING”. Sounds like you have been coerced into your beliefs. Educate yourself with “CANNIBIS SATIVA” the non-THC version “HEMP” and look at all of the uses from Nutritional (protien, the perfect balanced Omega 3-6-9 oil), biofuel, plastics, clothing, reversing global warming, and many more. If you can digest this, understand that people make choices and want the ablility to make that choice.
RD-92,There are some drugs that will help you, hon. Back away from the bong and get some mood stabilizing chemicals in you system, then will talk – okay?
Rapt,”A little herb…? First hand, I saw my step son go from an honor roll student to a drop out in less than 2 years..after he discovered the ‘little herb’. He lost his ambition, his interest, his goals.”I went to school with a guy who did the same thing, only in less than six months; he wasn’t smoking weed though, his downfall was playing Bridge!
I was hoping to get an explaination of your first comment but you side stepped the question. And for your information I don’t smoke/use marijuana and not interested in your suggested “mood stabilizing chemicals”; my mood is fine, in fact great because I prefer to keep a clear head. It is for this reason that I am able to reason for the need of people who need medications not just “herbal based, but also pharmaceutical meds when warranted”. Your comments are shallow to say the least!