Tyee,
I also welcome the debate and appreciate the tone of your responses. Like others, I agree that it is hard to fault any law enforcement officer for "doing their job". The biggest shocker for me is that of all of the work you do (which, I think we almost universally appreciate) is that you considered this of all things to be a notably "good" arrest. I also wouldn't find your post as odd if you lived in some other part of the country but living in "The Humboldt Nation", you have to be aware of the local support (verging on encouragement?) of such activities. Given that I don't live in the area perhaps I have the wrong impression?

I'm with Dave's line of thinking where the simple legalization, regulation, control, and taxation is the best option. It clearly ain't going away so why not capture the tax money and stop throwing people in jail that are committing nothing other than marijuana crimes. It is close to the same lines as those bumper stickers that say "If guns are illegal, only criminals will own guns".

Kaiser, thanks for your responses as well. I debated on posting this topic, but I was interested in feelings of the people on this board. That is the reason I chose to post this. I enjoy a good well thought post, and the following debate. I DO live in the Humboldt Nation, and believe me there is pretty much no way of not seeing the support of marijuana here. It is overwhelming. With that said, I really wanted to know the feelings of you guys in Oregon and Washington. Somewhere other than my little part of the world. There have been some great posts. Thanks to all for your responses.

While I do not have a real opinion on the topic... I can almost guarentee that there will be nothing "simple" with the legalization of MJ... and I doubt that the taxes generated will even remotely cover the cost of the regulation and control...

Weekend warriors.

I heard there was 20 one pound bags


Ya, I smoke every now and then and I'll tell you there is a big difference between personal use and distribution. I've been caught several times with small amounts. Never driving or doing anything stupid. The officer(s) have always let me go with a warning. One even dumped it out on the ground and told me to leave. I came back 30 minutes later and damn near got half my bag back .


Is it harmless? It's just as harmless as alcohol, prescription drugs, and over the counter drugs when used in the proper fashion. There's a time and a place for everything.

53 years and not a damn thing on my record.

I think you'll find the average person in Oregon and Washington will feel fairly similar to those in your community. The entire west coast tends to be more liberal, especially in regard to marijuana. I'd expect steelhead fishermen to be even more liberal.

I'd also think that some states east of here might view things a little differently.

-AP

Really? You're just naturally this way. Cool Brewer.

obama smoked cannabis and has been potus for damn near a year and yet there's been over $46 billion spent on the wod and over 800,000 arrested for cannabis so far this year

http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm

what a total waste of my tax $$

tyee, most of the "normal" people in the "normal" world outside of kalifornia think pot should be legal whether they smoke it or not from my experience and granted i don't want my pilot or heart surgeon to be stoned while working, i could give a rats ass what they do with their private time

So some guy on work release has 5 outstanding warrants ?

Atta' boy, TT. This board cracks me up. Stoners.... Awesome...

tyee, thats cool you do good at your work , pat on the back, but the truth is if i didn't have so much family up here i would be your neighbor down there with a license to grow my twenty leagal plants and supply leagal dispensories, especially now since obama is backing up the states instead of the DEA. Its good for local economy, people are spending millions in the "emerald triangle".

Gurrilla farming is tearing up nataral forests its true, but the vast majority of damage is coming from illeagals who strait up LIVE in the woods, and clear cut and pollute and what not (which should be blammed on border patrol) i've seen the burnt down houses and abandoned operations with generators and deisel leaking out of tanks, and it gives a bad name to true conissuers and people who honestly need it to get through life,

i'm not talking about "oh man i need some dope cuz i had a bad day" no theres peeps with terminal cancer who can't eat and sleep who really NEED it.

I smoked for more than 10 years every day at least 2-3 grams, have a normal life, normal job, never hurt anybody but a hostess cake, recently quit cold turkey 1 year and 3 months ago next week, and i would love to see it leagal and alcohol illegal, marijuana does nothing but boost economy if it was, freekin sales of muchie food would goo up x1000

my $.02

YUP! brewer is 100% natually stoned! in fact just trying the dewbie smokes scares the crap outa me. my wife asks about 5 times aweek "brewer what the hell were you thinking?" so yes i'm a natural.

Calling somebody that smokes pot a stoner is like calling somebody that drinks a beer an alcoholic. You would probably be quite amazed that people you think you know well par take from time to time.

Besides the sale of munchies, would MJ really be a tax boom to the state economy?

Lets say the state gives out permits for legal farmers who harvest, package, and send it to the state to be sold in liquor stores. But, why would I want to pay for something I could easily grow myself at home? I mean afterall, it is just a weed, not that hard to grow with knowledge that can be found on line and in a book. Certainly much easier to make then alcohol.

In order for the state to profit, the state would have to still criminalize the cultivation of MJ and I would suspect that the vast majority of smokers would still grow their own anyway, in which case there would still be a criminal penalty, plus tax evasion charges etc. The state would have to hire people to enforce and regulate MJ, creating a new state beuracracy.

Maybe I am wrong and everyone would flock to the liquor store to buy MJ and not bother with growing it. But, I bet there would still be a helluva black market, just because people are so accumstomed to buying MJ from a dealer and a whole structure is in place already to black market MJ, if it became legal. I just can't see the state not wanting to conrol everything and make sure every smoker has paid their tax.

thats funny
it made me go back and reread some of the original posts




"tyeeterror Offline
Spawner

Registered: 11/04/99
Posts: 587
Loc: The Humboldt Nation
I know this is not fishing related, I thought you guys might find this interesting.

Humboldt County Sheriffs Department, Eureka, California
PRESS RELEASE.........

Early this morning Humboldt County Sheriff's Deputies arrested two men after finding them transporting 17 pounds of marijuana. At about 1 am a Sheriff's Sergeant conducted a traffic stop on Myrtle Ave, Eureka. A records check revealed the driver Robert Lightner, 27 of Arcata, had 5 outstanding bench warrants. The Sergeant arrested Lightner while a second deputy arrived. Lightners passenger, Michael Demko III, 36 of Mckinleyville was asked to step out of the vehicle, a pick up with a canopy. Deputies conducted a probation search of the truck. While searching the cargo area the deputies found a case containing a large amount of dried, processed marijuana bud. The marijuana was packaged inside 17 plastic bags each marked with its weight (1 pound) and the strain. A digital scale was also found. Both suspects were arrested for possession of marijuana for sales, and transportation of marijuana for sales. At the time Lightner was serving time on the Sheriff's Work Alternative Program and was ineligible to post bail. Demkos bail was set at $50,000."



ok as was pointed out, lightner was on work release with 5 outstanding warrants?

the cannabis was in 17 bags marked with strain and weight?
now wtf? would some one do that?
oh, my guess would be that they were bound for a cannabis dispensery which are legal i believe in california? maybe? ya think?



"tyeeterror Offline
Spawner

Registered: 11/04/99
Posts: 587
Loc: The Humboldt Nation
Wow, those are not the responses I was expecting. Commercial cultivation of marijuana is effecting rivers, ie fishermen. Streams are dammed for irrigation. Diesel, and oil from generators leak into streams. Not to mention all the commercial fertilizers, and chemicals that are introduced into the water shed. Sorry if you think making a small dent in this problem is LAME."



now this post just cracks me up
how many lawnmowers,weedeaters,trucks,cars,boats,airplanes,jets,trains,motorcycles,copcars,swatrigs, and helicopters to name a few that pop up not to mention the pesticides and fertilizers from the largest agricultural area in the world that pollute california and a couple knuckleheads growing some pot sloppily is your argument?



"tyeeterror Offline
Spawner

Down here we have a considerable amount of crime associated with commercial marijuana cultivation. As an example, recently a man was murdered about 2 miles from my house during a marijuana home invasion. I oppose the commercial cultivation and sales of marijuana. Its a CRIME. In California it is legal to use Marijuana with a doctors recommendation, a law I voted for. I have lived in the community I police for my entire career, and feel very connected to my community. I encourage differing opinions, and enjoy the debate. A closed mind is a waste."


1st off, a home invasion is a home invasion so that cannabis was involved is a red herring and you know that
2nd, you say you voted for the medical use of cannabis yet you seem proud to remove the same cannabis that appears destined to the compassion clubs where the medical patients get their cannabis?
it all seems hypocritical to me but that's just my opinion and nothing more
regarding being connected to your community?
you probably are, at least to the members that would actually talk to you but you already know there is a huge community within that looks at your like a leper and won't talk or help or even piss on you if you were on fire and that's mostly due leo's tactics and propaganda in the failed war on drugs

fyi, i don't smoke cannabis but i know plenty that do and most of them are good people doing good things
if you want to do the right thing? bust some meth labs


fwiw

TT, up here in wa. i see and smell the MJ all the time. guys go fishing and light the stuff up. it almost seems like it's the smell of the river. back in the hey daze of winter fishing the cowlitz blue creek it was lit up everywhere. brewer here just nozled closely and discretely to a bottle of dekypers apricot brandy. mainly to keep the bottle hidden from my brothers and dad...

in a place like here, uh ya alot more than food would sell, i trying to make a very dry joke, cuz last time i looked there was a dang crap load of farmers oround here to grow, and that means new $$ for them, new machinery, fertilizer sales, tool sales, going out more, gettin stuff for the wifey, kids, etc and thats just one aspect,

look at ciggarette tax, went up like two bucks last year, do that with legal weed, holy freekin crap

mike, can you make your own moonshine legally?
no, you cant, you can make beer and wine, just like ya you can grow "weed", but can you grow "the black" or "early purps" , nobody wants just weed, weed grows in the ditch in iowa and nobody wants it,

the state already has folks in place to regulate illigal mj if it was legal, and tax evaision is already handled by who?

How do you figure? It didn't work that way when the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment.



Put that in your pipe and smoke it

stoned

looks like it doesnt impair a bit.

impair seems to be the qualifier timber
give abu your bottle of choice and have him give you his baggie of choice and see whom ends up on the floor first

i'd guess abu would still be able to rake leaves while you puke

but thats just a guess