Why We Should Legalize Marijuana in 2015

I live in Indiana so I'm going to focus on that state. This could apply to any state in the nation though, so just replace the word "Indiana" with your own state.

So why should Indiana legalize cannabis? What is the use of it? We'll compare Colorado's legalization with Indiana's non-legal status. First let's look at the current Indiana law dealing with marijuana. The text of these laws can be found at the following link. I'll be condensing it down as much as possible without taking away the meaning.

IC 35-48-4 Chapter 4. Offenses Relating to Controlled Substances

Currently under (IC = Indiana Code) IC 35-48-4-8.5 Version b, Dealing in paraphernalia effective 7-1-2014, Any person who keeps for sale, offers for sale, delivers, or finances the delivery of a raw material, an instrument, a device, or other object that is intended to be or that is designed or marketed to be used primarily for ingesting, inhaling marijuana, or otherwise introducing into the human body marijuana, hash oil, hashish, salvia, a synthetic drug, or a controlled substance, or testing the strength, effectiveness, or purity of, or enhancing the effect of marijuana, or manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, or preparing marijuana, or diluting or adulterating marijuana commits a Class A infraction for dealing in paraphernalia. However, the offense is a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior unrelated judgment or conviction under this section.

Take note that this does not apply to: (2) Items marketed for or historically and customarily used in connection with the planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, or inhaling of tobacco or any other lawful substance.

Current law IC 35-48-4-10 Version b, Dealing in marijuana, hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug effective 7-1-2014. Any person who knowingly or intentionally, manufactures, finances the manufacture of, delivers or finances the delivery of marijuana, hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug, pure or adulterated, or possesses with intent to manufacture, finance the manufacture of, deliver, or finance the delivery of marijuana, hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug, pure or adulterated commits dealing in marijuana, hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug, a Class A misdemeanor. The offense is a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior conviction for a drug offense and the amount of the drug involved is less than thirty (30) grams of marijuana, or less than two (2) grams of hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug, or the amount of the drug involved is at least thirty (30) grams but less than ten (10) pounds of marijuana, or at least two (2) grams but less than three hundred (300) grams of hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug. The offense is a Level 5 felony if the person has a prior conviction for a drug dealing offense and the amount of the drug involved is at least thirty (30) grams but less than ten (10) pounds of marijuana, or at least two (2) grams but less than three hundred (300) grams of hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug, or
the amount of the drug involved is at least ten (10) pounds of marijuana, or at least three hundred (300) grams of hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug, or offense involved a sale to a minor.

Current law IC 35-48-4-11 Version b, Possession of marijuana, hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug effective 7-1-2014. Any person who knowingly or intentionally possesses (pure or adulterated) marijuana, hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug knowingly or intentionally grows or cultivates marijuana, or knowing that marijuana is growing on the person's premises, fails to destroy the marijuana plants, commits possession of marijuana, hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug, a Class B misdemeanor. The offense described in subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor if the person has a prior conviction for a drug offense. The offense described in subsection (a) is a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior conviction for a drug offense and the person possesses at least thirty (30) grams of marijuana, or at least two (2) grams of hash oil, hashish, salvia, or a synthetic drug.

Lets look at the penalties involved with these laws.

Class A infraction = Sec. 4. (a) A judgment of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) may be entered for a violation constituting a Class A infraction.

Class A misdemeanor = IC 35-50-3-2 Class A misdemeanor
Sec. 2. A person who commits a Class A misdemeanor shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of not more than one (1) year; in addition, he may be fined not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.8. Amended by Acts 1977, P.L.340, SEC.124.

Level 5 felony = IC 35-50-2-6 Version b Class C felony; Level 5 felony 

(c) A person who commits a Level 5 felony (for a crime committed after June 30, 2014) shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between one (1) and six (6) years, with the advisory sentence being two (2) years. In addition, the person may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

Level 6 felony = IC 35-50-2-7 Version c Class D felony; Level 6 felony

(b) A person who commits a Level 6 felony (for a crime committed after June 30, 2014) shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between six (6) months and two and one-half (2 1/2) years, with the advisory sentence being one (1) year. In addition, the person may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

Okay there you have it. All this law and penalties for possession, distribution, manufacturing and use of a substance that if you went to Colorado the police would turn there heads as you've not broken the law. The way I understand the Indiana law, if I even took pencil and paper and drew a picture of a devise I might build for using marijuana it would be against the law. If there was 50 acres of wild marijuana growing on my property, and I knew about it, and did not destroy it I could be charged. It would cost a lot of money to destroy that much marijuana growing. Perhaps if something like that did happen I should weigh the costs of destroying verses being convicted.

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Report, 12,850 people were arrested on marijuana possession charges in Indiana in 2010. (2010 is the latest figures I could find so far) That's 35 people hauled into the Indiana Court system every single day for something that would otherwise be legal in Colorado. All that costs the tax payers of Indiana a lot of money. Money that could be used for things like schools. It makes a drain on critical police resources that could be otherwise be used to fight the epidemic murder rate in places like Indianapolis. I can't turn on the evening news without a report of another murder almost every single day. Wouldn't our police and court system better serve the citizens by working on bringing violent offenders to justice rather than arresting peaceful pot smokers? Couldn't the vast amount of tax dollars our good citizens pay every year in taxes be better used to fight property crimes and real damage from real criminal activity? It is a huge waste of tax payer resources arresting, running them through the court system and housing in prisons persons involved with marijuana.

"Full on legalization would be like giving up the fight, said Sheriff Eric Williams. But he said putting people in jail automatically for every minor drug offense is not the answer either."

I think this line of thought is incorrect. Full on legalization would be more like admitting the total failure of a policy born from deceit and prejudice. I see nothing wrong with turning around and going the other way when one realizes they were incorrect. In my mind that stands out as honorable.

There is a better way to do things in Indiana. Indiana should just admit the failure of the current mind set concerning marijuana. Every person of reason would applaud the legislature for abandoning the short sighted, 20th century vendetta against this product. A vendetta that has cost our nation hundreds of billions of dollars in wasted resources and lost revenue.

Let's look at Colorado and see what benefits have been obtained by the citizens of that state by their legalization of marijuana for adult consumption. This data is from the Marijuana policy Project. All data and references can be found here.

Economic Impacts of Colorado’s State-Legal Marijuana Industry

Marijuana Policy Project

P.O. Box 77492

Washington DC 20013

(202)462-5747

Info@mpp.org

www.mpp.org

Marijuana has been legal in Colorado for adults 21 and older to use, possess, and cultivate since voters approved Amendment 64 in November 2012. This policy change has already significantly reduced the law enforcement resources required to enforce marijuana laws. Between 2012 and 2013, in Colorado, the number of marijuana cases filed in state courts plummeted 77%. The number of petty marijuana possession charges fell 81%.

However, the most dramatic effects of Amendment 64 did not appear until January 1, 2014, when the first legal, licensed, recreational marijuana stores opened their doors. On the first day alone, with only two-dozen stores open, the industry reported profits of more than $1 million. Within the first week, those profits had risen to nearly $5 million. The first three months of adult marijuana sales netted Colorado approximately $7.3 million in taxes with tax revenues increasing monthly.

Monthly revenues have been far lower than what were expected with new stores ramping up. A total of 197 stores have been granted state licenses, but several of them are not able to open yet because they are awaiting local approval, or because they do not have a sufficient supply of marijuana. Several stores that are open reported rationing marijuana to meet demand. Despite this, the total state tax revenue from medical and retail marijuana sales in FY 2014 is projected to total about $100 million.

The legislation to tax and regulate marijuana being debated in the Rhode Island Legislature has a different tax structure than the measure passed in Colorado. The Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act proposes excise taxes of $50 per ounce on marijuana flowers and $10 per ounce on stems and leaves sold at the wholesale level. In Colorado, that tax is 15% per ounce. The static excise tax allows for more predictable revenue because it is not dependent on price. For example, an ounce in Colorado is currently sold for anywhere between $280-5608 and continues to fluctuate as the market adjusts to the demand.

In addition to tax revenue, the regulated marijuana industry in Colorado is boosting the local economy by creating jobs, both directly related to the industry and in ancillary sectors. As of May 1, 2014, the Marijuana Enforcement Division had issued 9,641 employee badges, which are required for everyone directly handling marijuana. These positions include retail assistants at dispensaries and trimmers and growers at cultivation facilities. New marijuana businesses also require lawyers, accountants, construction workers, electricians, landlords, security, insurance, transportation, and growing equipment suppliers.

On the first day of sales in Colorado, about half of the customers waiting in lengthy, orderly lines came from out-of-state. An online travel site noted that tourism to Denver is up about 10 percent

since January 1. Increased tourism and the newly legal status of marijuana certainly are not hurting real estate, either. PricewaterhouseCoopers recently ranked Denver one of the top commercial real estate markets nationwide. In fact, more families are moving to the Denver metro area, leading to a record-breaking number of single-family homes sold in 2013 (more than during the housing boom). Even former opponents of legalization, such as the Denver Chamber of Commerce, have conceded that the legal marijuana industry has been an economic boon.

Finally, a recent study by the University of Colorado – Denver, which had hypothesized that dispensaries would change the neighborhoods surrounding them for the worse and create more crime, actually found that medical marijuana dispensaries impacted neighborhoods no more than coffee shops. An older study from California found that crime actually decreases around medical marijuana centers, in part due to the increased security camera surveillance, as well as security guards at some shops. In fact, overall property crime rates for the four months since marijuana businesses began selling to adults 21 and over in Denver were down 11.4% from where they were during the same period last year; violent crime rates are down 5.6%.

In conclusion, the legal marijuana market has already had a positive impact on Colorado by reducing the number of marijuana-related arrests, generating tens of millions in tax revenue in the first year alone, and boosting direct and collateral economic sectors.

Indiana could use some of that kind of economic growth. I see houses all over the place in Indiana that have been sitting around unsold for years. Prime example is Gary Indiana. That place has turned into a crime infested, crumbling place of abandonment ever since the steel industry went belly up. There are no jobs there. Why not legalize marijuana and turn it into a tourist mecca? Look at all the jobs that would create. Instead of urban flight, there would be urban renewal.

I think Colorado has taught our nation an important lesson. That being that there is no good to come from marijuana criminalization. That there are many benefits from the legalization and taxation of cannabis. One of the benefits would be that people would quit looking at Indiana as some kind of backwards, corn fed Hicksville. You should know that is the impression a lot of people nation wide have of our state. People Say that marijuana will be legalized in Indiana one day, but we will be the last state to do it. Now that is just messed up. That sounds like stubborn hard-headedness that doesn't have to be.

Let 2015 be the year Indiana turns this around so all or our citizens can reap the rewards of a progressive policy concerning marijuana. Let Indiana not be the backwater state who comes in last in the realization of these bountiful harvests. Get on board with this. Write your legislature, and tell them you want marijuana legal in the state of Indiana and nation wide.

Marijuana: Legal State and Illegal State

When I move to the FREE state of Oregon I am going to start growing some cannabis like I did in New Mexico. I know how to grow HQ hydroponics. Pictures is one of my buds from when I had my Licensed Medical Marijuana grow in NM. The strain was Blue Dream. It is a sativa dominant plant. I like sativa better than indica because it doesn't put me to sleep. Indica is okay for bed time.

I had a pretty good grow going back then. What I grew helped me to deal with the effects of cancer treatment. All of that ended when I moved to the state of Indiana. I had to quit growing my personal garden because Indiana would lock me in prison if I tried to do that in the state. Here is another picture of my modest grow.

Indiana, and any other state where cannabis is still illegal should take note of something represented in these pictures. Economic activity is evident. All of that equipment costs money. I went to local stores to buy all of it. Hundreds of dollars worth of equipment in lights, replacements when the lights blow out, buckets, nutrients, PH adjusters, meters, pumps and other things. Not only that, many people in New Mexico have a Medical Marijuana card, but do not grow their own for one reason or the other. They go to the Licensed Dispensaries. When they purchase the products they are providing jobs, tax revenue and more! That more is, the dispensaries have to grow the products they sell. That means an investment in $hundreds of thousands$ of dollars of worth of equipment. That is another avenue of economic activity when they purchase all this equipment and supplies. Then there is lab fees. All of the products produced has to be tested by a certified lab for THC & CBD content, as well as mold.

It is my opinion that the law makers do not serve the interests of the citizens when they turn their backs on this potential economic generator. Not only is the state missing out on millions of dollars in tax revenue, but also on jobs for the people. It doesn't make sense to keep arresting people, and housing them in jails at the tax payers expense, when unregulated marijuana activity continues, and will continue. While Indiana continues with the policy of criminalize marijuana, badly needed monies go to criminal gangs, and the surrounding states which have legal medical marijuana programs.

End the draconian policy of criminalizing peaceful people who use this innocuous plant, marijuana. Let Indiana join in progressive legislature that will free up police resources, bring in more taxes, and provide many jobs. It is within your power. Speak up.

Apollo & Marijuana: How Nixon Screwed Us All

I'm beginning to think that Richard Nixon was the worst president in the history of the United States. That he had done more to damage our country than any other, with far reaching effects that are felt even today, 44 years later. His actions imprisoned millions of peaceful people, and set our nation back technologically, and economically. He, with two actions did this. He should not have only been impeached, he should have been convicted. He resigned before he could be impeached. Now that he is dead, history will have to convict him for his crimes.

His two crimes that damaged our civilization the most severely were the cancellation of the Apollo program, and his push to criminalize cannabis. Here are some interesting facts I am going to present you with, and I'll source each one. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel when other people have done a good job of it already. I'll merely try to uncover the truth by stating what has already been said, and not not brought into the light of day. You'll find some copy/paste here because of it. I'll put a blue background for the pasted text. I'll keep it short and sweet. I invite you to use the power of the internet to find more on how Nixon basically screwed all of us over, and I mean big time.

So let's us convict the worst president in history, Richard Nixon.

The Cancellation of the  Apollo Program

In August 1971, President Richard Nixon even proposed to cancel all remaining lunar landings (Apollo 16 and 17). His Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Deputy Director Caspar Weinberger was opposed to this, persuading Nixon to keep the remaining Moon missions, but recommended that if such cancellation would happen that it be "on the ground that Apollo 15 was so successful in gathering needed data that we can now shift, sooner than previously expected, to the Space Shuttle, Grand Tour, NERVA, etc."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canceled_Apollo_missions#Cancellations

Soon after the phenomenally successful Apollo 15 mission (26 July-7 August 1971), the first to include a three-day lunar-surface stay and a roving vehicle, President Nixon floated a plan to declare victory and cancel Apollo missions 16 and 17. He was, however, talked around by Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director (and space fan) Caspar “Cap” Weinberger. NASA ceased lunar exploration with Apollo 17 in December 1972, bringing to six the total number of successful Apollo lunar landings.

http://www.wired.com/2013/09/ending-apollo-1968/

I'm not saying our leadership failed us on purpose. They probably didn't know any better. I know Richard Nixon didn't know any better. He was a corrupt, short sighted man, who was focused on the perceived problems of his times. He was lacking in enlightenment, and showed it in his attitude with race, government, and authority.
http://insolint.blogspot.com/2014/08/lost-human-potential-how-to-save-our.html

The Criminalization of Cannabis

A Nixon-appointed presidential commission had recommended that marijuana use not be a criminal offense under state or federal law. But Nixon himself, based on his zealous personal preferences, overruled the commission's research and doomed marijuana to its current illegal status.
http://www.alternet.org/story/12666/once-secret_%22nixon_tapes%22_show_why_the_u.s._outlawed_pot

Transcripts of Nixon Tapes

RN: "I mean one on marijuana that just tears the ass out of them. 
I see another thing in the news summary this morning about it. 
You know it's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are 
out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the 
matter with the Jews, Bob, what is the matter with them? I 
suppose it's because most of them are psychiatrists, you know, 
there's so many, all the greatest psychiatrists are Jewish. By 
God we are going to hit the marijuana thing, and I want to hit it 
right square in the puss, I want to find a way of putting more on 
that. More [ unintelligible ] work with somebody else with this."

http://www.csdp.org/research/nixonpot.txt

RN: "[unintelligible]. This is a typical thing, it's like the, a 
black kid, [unintelligible], uh, everybody used, uh, you know 
it's like old Jim Rhodes, he said, of course he's a typical 
[unintelligible], I mean, 1960s something like, [unintelligible], 
he said, you know he says all these people you know, 
[unintelligible], they come down here, these people, three or 
four hundred of them, they're picketing around, they're talking 
to legislators and to press, he, he said [unintelligible] he 
said, eh, mental health centers and all the other, 
[unintelligible], he says, I didn't take the money, 
[unintelligible] I just turned it down, and they gave the money 
to the niggers."

HRH: "He's right, there's a hell of a lot more niggers than you 
can buy them off."
http://www.csdp.org/research/nixonpot.txt

Legalize Moonshine, Marijuana, & Rickshaws

This morning there was a story on the news about a man who tried to sell a moonshine still on craigslist. He got arrested for his efforts. I was surprised by that! I had thought for years that it was legal to produce some amount of alcohol for personal use anywhere in the United States. So I looked up some links trying to find the real deal.

I found that under Federal Law distilling spirits is illegal. On this web site the author states;

"Alcohol distillation in the United States is highly regulated and federal judicial code is uniformly severe with those who skirt the rules. Once federal prosecutors bring charges against a suspect for illicit distillation, they are forbidden by law from dropping the case without express written permission from the Attorney General. "

"If found guilty, violators could face up to five years in prison and be fined $10,000" I find this to be disturbing. The reason I find it disturbing is that there are a lot of states in which the making of some personal moonshine is perfectly legal. That the number one reason for the federal ban has nothing to do with anything other than money. The drafters of these federal laws were afraid someone might avoid liquor taxes. I don't like the "spirit" of this law. I hate money grubber laws. That's what it is, or has become. This law may have started out as a law concocted to battle large scale illegal moonshine distillers of the post prohibition era, but don't they think that might be somewhat intrusive on the rights of the regular Joe home distiller? It is another example of the heavy handed, punitive approach the federal government has become famous for.

Just like the federal marijuana laws that say this innocuous substance is every bit as dangerous as heroin or meth, the federal ban on the hobbyist production of some spirits is a grievous intrusion onto our personal liberties. Just like the story of the home owner who was fined $50 a day by the city for having a vegetable garden in his front yard, this is indeed a travesty. 

Besides just being an intrusion on our liberty and freedom, there is another objectionable motive. The motive and methods are heinous, and criminal. Certain people get political power, or invest in another person who will do their bidding, so these kind of laws get crafted. Like the ban on a veggie garden. Could such a law be supported and crafted by big grocers trying to ensure their customer base doesn't shrink due to people growing their own food?

Look at Las Vegas. There is an actual law restricting rickshaws. Why? The reason why is because the taxi owners were afraid of competition, so they got together and pushed a anti-rickshaw law. If you have a look of dismay on your face right now, I can understand it. Check out this article.

"Because pedicabs are not motorized, they don't come under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Taxicab Authority or the Nevada Transportation Services Authority. But limousine drivers complained to TSA regulators that pedicabs were operating unsafely."

Safety? I call bull crap on that one. If there was any concern about public safety, the city would focus on that, and try to craft laws that ensure safety. They wouldn't be putting 100 drivers out of work by shutting them down completely. The limo drivers don't give a flying monkey about any safety except the safety of their wallets. They have caused a defacto monopoly. This isn't the only instance of greedy people getting laws passed in city, state or federal government halls that have nothing to do with your personal freedom or liberty, and everything to do with keeping competition crushed.

This kind of greed is rampant in our United States of America. It is reflected in laws like the anti-rickshaw, anti-marijuana, anti-DIY whiskey and a whole lot of others. I don't know about you, but I've had it up to my eyeballs with restrictive laws that serve no real public good. In reality, a lot of these restrictive laws run counter to the public good. Like the federal ban on home whiskey distilling. The still I seen on the news broadcast this morning looked unsafe. It looked like it could blow up if the pressures were not constantly monitored. Perhaps if instead of an outright ban we had laws designed to preserve public safety instead, we wouldn't be having explosions threatening public safety. Check out the next example;

Three men suffered burns when a moonshine still exploded inside a brick garage at a residence in Athens.

So let us really take back America. Let us support common sense laws, and not laws who's purpose is nothing but greed. Let us legalize the safe production of limited amounts of spirits by the freedom loving public. Let us legalize marijuana on a federal level. Let us have safe rickshaws carrying willing passengers.  Let us have our liberty in this land of freedom.