re: JP Sheriff Newell Normand's tirade over potentially legalizing marijuana.

You know who doesn't want drugs legalized?

Drug dealers.

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"We are thinking about decriminalizing marijuana, and we think all of this s*** is going to go away when we do, so, hello?" Normand said. "The havoc it will wreak on our streets will be insurmountable."

"We want to point out four officer-involved shootings?" said Normand. "Why are we not talking about the drug dealing? Why are we not talking about the fear of the families of my deputies?"

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Back in the 20's cops were being shot making alcohol busts. When was the last time you heard about a cop being shot during an alcohol bust?

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If marijuana doesn't make you violent why does every other criminal they arrest have weed and paraphernalia on them? This guy is right about the "high" cost of drugs in our community

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Lol. I love in Colorado, and moved here from Nola. Guess which state has more weed, and which had more violent crime.

I moved from the most dangerous city in America, to what mightbe the safest city in America. If anything is causing additional violence in LA, it's having ridiculous access to alcohol, specifically liquor. It's available cheaply and can be bought 24 hours a day.

Why do you think most uptown stores don't sell liquor? It's not because they're Muslim. Is because they don't want a certain type of customer that selling booze attracts. They have much less problems because of that. (Source: Muslim friend in Nola that had had conversations with store owners at the mosque. And yes, he himself drinks).


The only issue I see worth Louisiana legalizing it, is the state being notoriously lax about carding and overall corruption. Colorado has tried, but have never had a dispensary sell to someone underage. They've been diligent in self policing, because they want the industry to have only positive affects. I doubt Louisiana would do the same.

But y'all feel free to continue to allow criminals to sell marijuana to the Louisiana public, and earn millions in untaxed revenue. I'm sure they'll also check id, and make sure they don't sell it to kids. Because drug dealers are known as caring citizens that want nothing best for their community.

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Back in the 20's cops were being shot making alcohol busts. When was the last time you heard about a cop being shot during an alcohol bust?

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In this rush for legalization - it would be remiss of me to not remind everyone:

Marijuana is not the panacea that is argued by some of its adherents. It can amplify and worsen psychological problems, heavy, "chronic" use leads to demotivational syndrome, and it has negative cardiovascular/respiratory effects greater than cigarettes on a per use basis (although cig smokers tend to use more, that's true as well).

SO, there is a negative side to legalization that has nothing to do with silly theories about gateway effects. And it will probably spike use, particularly among youngsters during the first few years of legalization before it stabilizes. That's just a fact of legalization. In addition, it does pose problems for law enforcement as it is difficult to do field screening for those who are cannabis impaired and driving an automobile.

So, while I'm on board for either decriminalization or outright legalization - I think a slow transition might be warranted in states like Louisiana - let's get MMJ first, then move towards recreational - perhaps just initially. Such problems are likely to be more manageable if we do it like that.

But it is Reefer Madness tirades like this that make the anti-legalization movement look so silly and out of touch.

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We want to point out four officer-involved shootings?" said Normand. "Why are we not talking about the drug dealing? Why are we not talking about the fear of the families of my deputies?"

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Because not having them enforce a victimless crime that is no longer illegal will actually make them safer?

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A couple years ago the St Tammany sheriff said in an interview that legalizing pot would result in drug dealers on every corner. The shite these fricks say doesn't even make sense, and doesn't seem to have to make sense

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I know a lot of former weed dealers in Colorado. They will often start a sentence with "back when pot was worth something, i would..."

Yeah, we don't have pot dealers here anymore. Legalizing has basically killed the black market. There still some black market, but it's very, very small, and is pretty much hippies selling from the a few plants they grew in their backyard. It's fan near nonexistent.


Also, this fricking awesome story...

Marijuana Legalization in Colorado Is Killing Mexican Drug Cartels

frick the cartels.

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Lol. I love in Colorado, and moved here from Nola. Guess which state has more weed, and which had more violent crime.

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Guess which state has more "violent crime people"

it's insane to me that they have this massive revenue stream sitting right in front of their faces and don't do shite about it.

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"We want to point out four officer-involved shootings?" said Normand. "Why are we not talking about the drug dealing? Why are we not talking about the fear of the families of my deputies?"

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Those damn liquor store clerks always shooting cops.....

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SO, there is a negative side to legalization that has nothing to do with silly theories about gateway effects. And it will probably spike use, particularly among youngsters during the first few years of legalization before it stabilizes. That's just a fact of legalization.

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Colorado is #1 in youth Marijuana use rate. But the numbers haven't changed in years. We became #1 because other state's usage rates dropped. So we didn't have an uptick. They've found the people who use will use. Those that doesn't before, while they may try an edible, they don't start because it's now legal.

LINK

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In addition, it does pose problems for law enforcement as it is difficult to do field screening for those who are cannabis impaired and driving an automobile.

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As someone who has reached the point where I've been using longer during my life than i haven't, I 100% agree that you shouldn't drive stoned. That's why Colorado, and private companies nationwide have been developing the Marijuana breathalyzer. So they can detect impairment instead of recent use.

LINK



Besides cops that risk losing a source of funding, and drug dealers that would have to get a real job, Louisiana'a biggest opponent to legalization is the alcohol industry. People who are high usually drink less, which spike reduce their sales. They will absolutely lobby hard to prevent this from happening.

Louisiana smoker's only hope is that the state's financial situation continues to decline. Money is the only way things will change. And if the oil industry doesn't recover soon, that may happen.