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Press Release
Legalizing marijuana in California would not substantially cut cartel revenues, study finds


Thanks to RAND Corporation for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.



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AmoebaMike
Independence Science
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 12:49 pm CDT

I'll be the naive one to ask this:

How much is an ounce? Like a day's supply, 1 joint's worth, ???


Brian Krueger, PhD
Columbia University Medical Center
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 12:55 pm CDT

Are you trying to out the LabSpaces stoners?  I have no clue.  Maybe google knows the answer!


AmoebaMike
Independence Science
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 1:29 pm CDT

Some people have no problem talking about their recreational past (or present). They can out themselves.  ;-)

Google will tell me how much an ounce costs, but would it tell me how long it would last? and I just tried googling how long it would last. Up to a week if you smoke all the time.  1-2 on average. 6 months to a year if you don't smoke much.

So it seems that an ounce is a fair amount to carry considering going on vacation or something.


AmoebaMike
Independence Science
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 1:30 pm CDT

that was 1-2 months, on average Wink


Genomic Repairman
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 3:26 pm CDT

I don't know if it would cut cartel revenues but Papa Johns would have a huge earnings gain the first quarter that this happens.


Will
UC Davis
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 5:01 pm CDT

So I was looking into the pros and cons of prop 19 the other day.

 

Pros:

1) California's economy would grow by around 20 billion dollars

2) Create jobs in California

3) Reduce crime in California

 

Cons:

1) Employers in California that bid for public contracts and grants that are ultimately funded by the federal government would no longer be eligible for those contracts and grants if Proposition 19 passes because Proposition 19 would prevent them from being able to "effectively enforce the drug-free workplace requirements outlined by the federal government". This would result in further harm to California businesses and their workers, according to the California Chamber of Commerce: "Proposition 19 creates special rights for employees to possess marijuana on the job, and that means no company in California can meet federal drug-free workplace standards, or qualify for federal contracts. The California State Firefighters Association warns this one drafting mistake alone could cost thousands of Californians to lose their jobs."

- losing federal grants could cost schools as much as $9.4 billion in lost federal funding", according to public school superintendent John Snavely, Ed.D.

Therefore money would be lost, but it would bring in a lot of money.

2) Could drive under the influence without being arrested as long as nothing happened.

3) Employers would not be able to pre-emptively remove workers who smell of marijuana use from sensitive jobs such as operating heavy machinery or running medical lab tests but would instead have to wait to take action until after an accident occurs.

4) Due to California's strong law against legislative tampering, in the case of unexpected negative secondary consequences, the California State Legislature would be unable to effectively address those problems.

 

I can't decide on which side of the fence I am leaning

 

 

 


Will
UC Davis
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 5:05 pm CDT

Accoding to:

"Drugs: To Legalize or Not", The Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2009

and

"Mexican drug lord officially thanks American lawmakers for keeping drugs illegal", Huffington Post, March 29, 2009

Legalizing it would reduce funding to drug cartels.


JanedeLartigue
UC Davis
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 5:11 pm CDT

Regarding points 2 and 3 surely there has to be some way around this when writing the legislation.  If we can think of some of these negative points in advance surely we should be able to work around them. Plus these arguments don't make sense to me.  Alcohol isn't illegal but you could still be arrested for driving under it's influence and for being drunk in the workplace, why would the same thing not apply for marijuana?


JaySeeDub
Dub C Med School
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 5:21 pm CDT

@Genomic Repairman - Didn't you know?  There's a reason why In-N-Out is open until 1am around most campuses in California on weekdays, and 2am on weekends...

@ameoba mike - Now, lemme preface by emphatically stating that I do not smoke.  That said, the average joint has about .02 to .03oz (0.6 - 0.8g) of cannabis per.  Roughly.  I had to think back on the buying trends of a lot of friends in terms of volume, frequency and whether finals/midterms were upon them.  Again, I don't smoke.  So if someone out there has first hand knowledge, I'll defer to their expertise on the matter.  I wonder if I could get useable data if I polled Berkeley students on Friday night...


Will
UC Davis
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 5:40 pm CDT

The point is though that the proposition has been written and people are voting on the way it is written now.  Loop holes mean that driving under the influence and working under the influence would be allowed.

 


Will
UC Davis
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 5:44 pm CDT

I haven't actually read the proposition but it might be because it is being coined as a medication?


AmoebaMike
Independence Science
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Wed, Oct 13, 2010, 7:49 pm CDT

@JaySeeDub, thanks for the info!

@Will, isn't it the case that you can be charged with driving under the influence if you are under the influence of anything that causes you to fail a field sobriety test?

 

Charlie

Guest Comment
Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 10:53 pm CDT

What if it was legalized & then Phillip & Morris & other tobacco companies would start marketing

them & it being sold like cigarettes with an age limit to purchase, laws prohibiting one from

being under the infuence- like alcohol ? Of course, you could grow your own, like people who

make their own beer & wine, but you still couldn't drive, work while being under the influence.

Just wondering.

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