Jacob Sullum notes that the opponents of legalization in the recent California hearing appeared less than well-prepared.
This one was really outrageous..
Sara Simpson, acting assistant chief of the state Justice Department’s Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, said much of California’s major marijuana cultivation is run by Mexican drug cartels on remote public lands, and she recited a litany of violent and deadly clashes with armed guards at such sites. Such growing operations also are environmentally devastating, she said, and produce marijuana far more potent than that used just years ago. There’s no reason to believe the cartels would adhere to state laws on cultivation, potency and taxation any more than they adhere to prohibition now, she said.
Jacob does a fine job of debunking the stupidity…
The point is not the “the cartels” would suddenly start behaving like good corporate citizens but that they would be driven out of this particular business by open, legal competition.
… but what boggles my mind is that we should even have to debunk this.
Maybe I’m just naturally intellectually superior to most of the rest of the world, so I have a hard time understanding that their minds are incapable of grasping some of these basic notions related to legalization.
Or Sara Simpson is a moron.
Sara Simpson is certainly a moron, but in her defense, her ability to continue receiving a paycheck is dependent upon her mental failing.
nah, let’s go with the moron thing.
Their arguments are so easy to refute, it’s a joke. Everyone should be informed on this subject so they can do so when someone starts spouting such nonsense.
— “Law enforcement officials testified the harms caused by marijuana legalization would far outweigh whatever tax revenue it might bring”
Well we aren’t collecting any revenue on this right now.. oh wait, law enforcement is, in the form of asset forfeiture and drug money seizures.
— more, not less, use by children; more people driving under the influence, causing more injuries and deaths; decreased worker productivity that could hurt the economy; and a still-thriving black market.
Drug dealers don’t check IDs and in a regulated market sellers would lose their licenses for selling to minors. People drive under the influence now and it’s not a big problem because its simply not the same as driving drunk. Decreased worker productivity is simply not a problem – do they think people get hangovers from smoking weed? A still thriving black market is simply not possible, because a black market can’t compete with a legal market.
A child with internet access could do this. It would be hilarious really to see a 13 year old make these law enforcement officers look stupid at a hearing like this.
Or perhaps it is deliberate misinformation to poison the attitudes of the moron constituents and those who have enough wit but are too lazy or uncaring to investigate.
Maybe I’m just naturally intellectually superior to most of the rest of the world, so I have a hard time understanding that their minds are incapable of grasping some of these basic notions related to legalization.
Hey, I’m a proud working class realist, how the hell do you think it makes me feel? I don’t want to be intellectually superior. Its sad how many “professionals” are ignorant or pretend ignorance concerning Ganja or even Hemp. The only thing worse than them not knowing, is if they do know the truth, and continue for profits. Or job scared. I suspect with the multitude of alternatives shelved do to prohibition. And the profits made on prohibition, that lies and double talk perpetuating the war is the case. If they really are that dumb, we’re in much worse shape than pot could ever do. I’m also sick of paying taxes to puppets giving me a load of crap.
— “Law enforcement officials testified the harms caused by marijuana legalization would far outweigh whatever tax revenue it might bringâ€
Indeed–the harms to law enforcement’s budget could be devastating.
Again and again and again…this issue needs to be settled in court, with sworn testimonies and reminders of the penalties for perjury. These mendicants would quickly ‘plead the 5th’ or find themselves in hot water when the literally pallet-load of studies refuting this nonsense is entered as evidence. You’d actually have to use a forklift to move them around, they’re so voluminous.
The liars must have their feet legally nailed to the floor to keep them from ‘spinning’ this issue any longer.
Oh, and as to the intellectual superiority aspect, could that not be attributed simply to the fact that many prohibs drink alcohol, which destroys brain cells by the thousands? Considering that it’s been proven that cannabis actually preserves brain cells, then the intellectual advantage naturally falls to the cannabists as opposed to the juicers.
Of course, it helps to be smart to begin with 😉
While she appears to be misguided, we should respectfully engage in conversation. Calling her a moron isn’t the best way to get your point accross, debunking her argument soundly is. Not that I’m a second grade teacher, but I personally try to refrain from name calling.
You’re right, Ziggy, and I get called on this every time I do this. If she was here, commenting on this board, or if I met her on the street, I would talk to her respectfully. In fact, I demand that commenters here not call other commenters names in the comments section.
That said, this is Drug War Rant, and sometimes the rant part is an essential element of catharsis in world gone crazy.
Finally, this is not an argument worth debunking. If somebody says that the world is flat and ships sailing in the ocean will fall off the edge, you don’t debunk their argument. You call them what they are — a moron.
Surely they just *pretend* to believe this stuff. We know they get fired if they speak the truth about cannabis so these ones are just protecting their jobs. Right?
I mean what idiot could look at the outstanding success of alcohol legalization and claim that applying the same thing to marijuana will have the cartels growing for coffeeshops?
You’d have to ask why aren’t the cartels brewing for our bars and taverns today – are they incapable of learning how to make beer? lol
I would prefer ‘useful idiot’.
(I’m not dissing anybody, I’m just saying I, personally, try to refrain from the name calling, but that said, you’re right, it’s a rant!)
As for belieiving that the cartels are going to grow for the coffee shops, that is a legitimate concern, if you only decriminalize. It’s something they are tackling in Holland where much of the crop sold at coffee shops is believed to come from organized crime.
While we’re not talking about decriminilization at this point, but outright legalized control, much like alcohol, I think they maybe haven’t grasped that yet. Maybe it just hasn’t sunk in that farmers would be growing this crop next to corn, strawberries and tomatoes.
It’s all the more reason to point out the argument against decriminlization and for outright control.
Sara’s problem is that she doesn’t think for herself. Maybe it’s something that’s been culturally instilled into her little mind from infancy. She’s probably not an idiot. Ditz, maybe.
Sara could benefit from studying corporate law. In law class she would learn that with newly legalized drugs the individual cartels can file for articles of incorporation, get a resale number and do the rest of the biz stuff. Then they’re automatically legit.
In makes no sense for Sara to think that no opportunity should be given for drug smugglers to become law abiding citizens and business operators; to go through customs, pay their taxes, sue competitors in court, and so forth. But then Sara might just become unemployed from her puff job as a narc in the midst of an economic slowdown. How sad for poor Sara. She’d end up just like so many of the people she’s help bust for drugs—jobless.