Last night, voters made their voices heard. Those in Colorado and Washington decided they were finished allowing government officials the ability to take money from their household budgets to spend on things like the actions in the video above.
According to republicreport.org, the top five special interest groups lobbying to keep marijuana illegal are:
1.) Police Unions: Police departments across the country have become dependent on federal drug war grants to finance their budget. In March, we published a story revealing that a police union lobbyist in California coordinated the effort to defeat Prop 19, a ballot measure in 2010 to legalize marijuana, while helping his police department clients collect tens of millions in federal marijuana-eradication grants. And it’s not just in California. Federal lobbying disclosures show that other police union lobbyists have pushed for stiffer penalties for marijuana-related crimes nationwide.
2.) Private Prisons Corporations: Private prison corporations make millions by incarcerating people who have been imprisoned for drug crimes, including marijuana. As Republic Report’s Matt Stoller noted last year, Corrections Corporation of America, one of the largest for-profit prison companies, revealed in a regulatory filing that continuing the drug war is part in parcel to their business strategy. Prison companies have spent millions bankrolling pro-drug war politicians and have used secretive front groups, like the American Legislative Exchange Council, to pass harsh sentencing requirements for drug crimes.
3.) Alcohol and Beer Companies: Fearing competition for the dollars Americans spend on leisure, alcohol and tobacco interests have lobbied to keep marijuana out of reach. For instance, the California Beer & Beverage Distributors contributed campaign contributions to a committee set up to prevent marijuana from being legalized and taxed.
4.) Pharmaceutical Corporations: Like the sin industries listed above, pharmaceutical interests would like to keep marijuana illegal so American don’t have the option of cheap medical alternatives to their products. Howard Wooldridge, a retired police officer who now lobbies the government to relax marijuana prohibition laws, told Republic Report that next to police unions, the “second biggest opponent on Capitol Hill is big PhRMA” because marijuana can replace “everything from Advil to Vicodin and other expensive pills.”
5.) Prison Guard Unions: Prison guard unions have a vested interest in keeping people behind bars just like for-profit prison companies. In 2008, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association spent a whopping $1 million to defeat a measure that would have “reduced sentences and parole times for nonviolent drug offenders while emphasizing drug treatment over prison.”
NO.
Yes.
The video doesn’t show up in Chrome. Works in Firefox though.
Where’s Matthew Stewart when you need him?
This site went from police accoutability to marijuana endorsement in a hurry. You may as well go ahead and change the cop logo to a leaf and be done with it. The feds will have the final say though.
Great….it’s a war that can’t be won anyways.
The feds still have a say though.
The feds still have a say though.
see article 1 section 8 clause 17 of the constitution. this puts the feds back where they belong, only on property ceded to the federal gov’t.
John Q Public,this site has always been about gov transparency,accountability,and individual liberty. Marijuana consumption is a personal choice that does not violate another persons life,liberty,or property. I see no contradictions here.
Way to go Colorado and Washington!
You can quote those constitutional portions all day. The fact remains that those drugs have been made illegal and are schedule 1 drugs and these laws would constitute a violation of the controlled substance act and would give them a right to act if they saw fit. I personally do not care that they legalized it though.
Curious to see how BHO and the Fed feels about this.
Maybe the hippies should move to CO just yet.
It just shows what a bunch of garbage these cops are killing dogs I would of shot back for sure.
Yea, its about time.
Only 48 MOAR to go!
People that legally grow, will be raided by these degenerates one way or another for what ever reason they say, shoot and kill any human or animal that is in their path. For them growers out there, get a full video security system that uploads to multiple cloud servers.
A lot more info @ norml.org & cannabisnews.org .
I’m glad to see a couple states got it right.
We tried passing similar laws here (Prop 19) but the unions (cops and prison guards) along with the Feds (Eric Holder specifically) put up a strong fight.
Pretty much both parties fought Prop 19. Diane Feinstein said the streets would be full of stoned drivers. Like that’s not illegal already. Sadly it worked.
We will see how hard the Feds come down on Colorado and Washington.
Jury trial….
Yeah, the DEA has the resources to take over local and state efforts at marijuana prohibition in WA and CO.
Wait, no it doesn’t. Doesn’t matter what Baracky and the fascists in DC want.
The DEA has around 5,500 agents nationwide. There’s no way they can enforce this in two states without increasing that number many times. For example, just the city of Denver has roughly 1,500 officers, and they never could stop weed, even at the height of prohibition.
Now everybody in Colorado need to grow grow grow as to overwhelm the police and therefore prevent them from picking off citizens here and there. If everybody does it, then it makes it harder for them to fight against it. I love it. All those idiots out there who call it a “drug” and comapre it to cocaine and other harsh drugs get eggin thier face. There idiots. MJ is a natural plant not a man made drug!.
The Constitution grants NO power to the government to regulate drugs. The DEA is just as unlawful an organization as the EPA, FBI, DOE, ATF, etc.
Unfortunately, I think its going to take a court case to get it right.
My grandfather was a very good cop, back when cops were “peace officers” and when they came upon anyone committing a crime, especially a minor, they would sit down with the kids and talk to them, take them under their wing (many were single parent homes) and mentor them to go straight. There was no profit in it. When they served a warrant, a cop would knock on the door, talk to the individual and calmly explain things, take them into custody and let the criminal justice wheels roll without trying to become a judge jury or executioner. Things were a whole lot better then than they are now. All profit needs to be removed from criminal justice including PAC donations. Also back in those days, people self medicated legally and now days people should still be able to choose their own poison. Health care should be more affordable and people should be able to read their own PDR and purchase their Rx OTC without any PCP!! All drugs should be legalized and all that profit could stay in the pockets of the consumers.
Don’t forget to mention something about the flag having a fringe too!
“The DEA is illegal” – another fucking stupid liberal.
The federal Gov has NO rights except those given to them by the States…
BUT, try getting them to enforce that! Sadly, a ‘Court Case’ will be fruitless. The Federal Gov ruling on themselves? Yea! Thats going to work out Great!!
The Police are nothing more than the countries largest Gang, have little concern for our welfare, and treat the citizens as peons. Now explain how THEY will enforce laws they don’t agree with?!?! They pick and chose the ones they feel like enforcing Now!
I think you’d better read the US Constitution Article VI Clause 2, otherwise known as the Supremacy Clause. It states: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. Seems to me Federal law trumps State law.