If this trend to take over US cities continues, and it most likely will if no one acts to stop it- the USA will have to militarize the mexican border
for national security reasons. It may be too late already though.Bajahowodd - 3-9-2009 at 10:51 AM
Who'da thunk it? Hiding in plain sight. Years ago, Mexican immigrants were mostly limited to Califonia and the Southwest. Many attribute the rise in
the cost of living as having caused them to move elsewhere. I also believe that this same migration led to the broad-based anti-immigrant attitude. We
in Southern California have a blended culture with Mexico. And it has been that way since, well since this was Mexico. But folks in places like
Atlanta or Chicago seemed to have awakened one morning to behold masses of these "different" people.
Good
Dave - 3-9-2009 at 11:42 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh Mexican cartels plague Atlanta
Why would the cartels be in Atlanta? Wouldn't have anything to do with U.S. citizens buying their product, would it?Woooosh - 3-9-2009 at 11:48 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh Mexican cartels plague Atlanta
Why would the cartels be in Atlanta? Wouldn't have anything to do with U.S. citizens buying their product, would it?
yup. so decriminalize it already and shut it down. Besides, our USA drug dealers with their superior hydroponic systems need the work and all these
foreclosed homes are siting empty- just waiting for a growhouse opportunity.ckiefer - 3-9-2009 at 01:50 PM
If this trend to take over US cities continues, and it most likely will if no one acts to stop it- the USA will have to militarize the mexican border
for national security reasons. It may be too late already though.
Have any idea where all the seized money and guns go? Should be tons of that stuff somewhere....Woooosh - 3-9-2009 at 02:10 PM
The Mexican gangs quickly smuggle the money back into Mexico and points south- it is a business transaction after all.
Seems the Mexican gov't only wants the USA to help them stop the flow of guns though- they need to keep the cash getting through.
[Edited on 3-9-2009 by Woooosh]surfer jim - 3-9-2009 at 04:01 PM
O.K. ..... the idea of using foreclosed/empty homes for grow houses has got to be the greatest idea to solve the economic crises yet....puts people
to work in America....."green" jobs (:lol.......removes gangs/ cartels from the
profit motive.....a welcome addition to many neighborhoods .....
Don't get me started.....ckiefer - 3-13-2009 at 09:56 AM
On your mark....Get set.....GO!
Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy?
By ALISON STATEMAN / LOS ANGELES
1 hr 28 mins ago
Could marijuana be the answer to the economic misery facing California? Democratic State Assembly member Tom Ammiano thinks so. Ammiano introduced
legislation last month that would legalize pot and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale - a move that could mean billions for the
cash-strapped state. Pot is, after all, California's biggest cash crop, responsible for $14 billion in annual sales, dwarfing the state's second
largest agricultural commodity - milk and cream - which brings in $7.3 billion annually, according to the most recent USDA statistics. The state's tax
collectors estimate the bill would bring in about $1.3 billion in much-needed revenue a year, offsetting some of the billions in service cuts and
spending reductions outlined in the recently approved state budget.
"The state of California is in a very, very precipitous economic plight. It's in the toilet," says Ammiano. "It looks very, very bleak, with layoffs
and foreclosures and schools closing or trying to operate four days a week. We have one of the highest rates of unemployment we've ever had. With any
revenue ideas people say you have to think outside of the box, you have to be creative, and I feel that the issue of the decriminalization, regulation
and taxation of marijuana fits that bill. It's not new, the idea has been around, and the political will may in fact be there to make something
happen." (See pictures from stoner cinema.)
Ammiano may be right. A few days after he introduced the bill, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that states should be able to make their
own rules on medical marijuana and that federal raids on pot dispensaries in California would cease. The move signaled a softening of the hard-line
approach previous administrations have had to medicinal pot use. The nomination of Gil Kerlikowske as the head of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy may also signal a softer federal line on marijuana. If he is confirmed as the so-called Drug Czar, Kerlikowske will bring with him experience
as police chief of Seattle, where he made it clear that going after people for posessing marijuana was not a priority of his force.
California was one of the first states in the nation to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. Currently, $200 million in medical marijuana sales are
subject to sales tax. If passed, the Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act (AB 390) would give California control of pot in a manner similar
to alcohol, while prohibiting its purchase to citizens under age 21. (The bill has been referred to the California State Assembly's Public Safety and
Health Committees; Ammiano says it could take up to a year before it comes to a vote for passage.) State revenues would be derived from a $50 per
ounce levy on retail sales of marijuana and sales taxes. By adopting the law, California could become a model for other states. As Ammiano put it:
"How California goes, the country goes."
Despite the projected and much-needed revenue, opponents say legalizing pot will only add to social woes. "The last thing we need is yet another
mind-altering substance to be legalized," says John Lovell, lobbyist for the California Peace Officers' Association. "We have enough problems with
alcohol and abuse of pharmaceutical products: do we really need to add yet another mind-altering substance to the array?" Lovell says the easy
availability of the drug will lead to a surge in its use, much like what happened when alcohol was allowed to be sold in venues other than liquor
stores in some states.
Joel W. Hay, professor of Pharmaceutical Economics at USC, also foresees harm if the bill passes. "Marijuana is a drug that clouds people's judgment.
It affects their ability to concentrate and react and it certainly has impacts on third parties," says Hay, who has written on the societal costs of
drug abuse. "It's one more drug that will add to the toll on society. All we have to do is look at the two legalized drugs, tobacco and alcohol, and
look at the carnage that they've caused. [Marijuana] is a dangerous drug and it causes bad outcomes for both the people who use it and for the people
who are in their way at work or other activities." He adds: "There are probably some responsible people who can handle marijuana but there are lots of
people who can't, and it has an enormous negative impact on them, their family and loved ones."
In response, retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray, a longtime proponent of legalization, estimates that legalizing pot and thus
ceasing to arrest, prosecute and imprison non-violent offenders could save the state an additional $1 billion a year. "We couldn't make this drug any
more available if we tried," he says. "Not only do we have those problems, along with glamorizing it by making it illegal, but we also have the crime
and corruption that go along with it." He adds, "Unfortunately, every society in the history of mankind has had some form of mind-altering, sometimes
addictive substances to use, to misuse, abuse or get addicted to. Get used to it. They're here to stay. So, let's try to reduce those harms and right
now we couldn't do it worse if we tried."Woooosh - 3-13-2009 at 10:43 AM
A least there is a real conversation bout a change of course taking place.
I do know that a lot of California "hydroponic chronic" makes it's way down here to Mexico for sale as well. When you have a college age nephew and
his friends around you hear and learn a lot.
.......removes gangs/ cartels from the
profit motive.....a welcome addition to many neighborhoods .....