Smoke weed in Texas and you're going straight to jail.
That reminds me of my first or second year in college . . . in Texas, back in the late 60s. Texas law provided for up to LIFE IN PRISON for possession of A SINGLE SEED of marijuana. Any amount: LIFE (unless you were a middle-class white or better, I imagine . . . not that there was any racism or classism involved . . .).
I sometimes wonder if some poor soul from that time is STILL incarcerated in TX for a single joint or some stems and seeds that a cop found in his pocket or his car (or her purse or whatnot).
The Homecoming Day parade at my University included a 30-foot joint on wheels, and yes, pot use was common among a big percentage of the student body.
I'm not big on expecting drug prohibitions to do much to stop drug use. I also have read that the percentage of heroin addicts is pretty much the same regardless of its legal status; if you're NOT carrying a lot of pain, heroin use (i.e., being numb) isn't very attractive. If you ARE carrying a lot of pain, you'll do anything to take care of the problem.
But drug prohibitions are FABULOUS for quickly creating lawless and incredibly violent cartels -- and lots of government corruption, from the local level to the White House.
You got it. Ever watch The Untouchables with Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro?
It's so OBVIOUS in the film (as in life) that Prohibition was doing nothing but creating violence, corruption, and death, yet the enforcement of same was thought of by the not-very-smart Good Guys as something almost holy. THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING GOOD, but of course they were only participants in the festival of violence that -- what a surprise -- had been created BY Prohibition and which ENDED immediately when Prohibition was repealed.
You got it. Ever watch The Untouchables with Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro?
It's so OBVIOUS in the film (as in life) that Prohibition was doing nothing but creating violence, corruption, and death, yet the enforcement of same was thought of by the not-very-smart Good Guys as something almost holy. THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING GOOD, but of course they were only participants in the festival of violence that -- what a surprise -- had been created BY Prohibition and which ENDED immediately when Prohibition was repealed.
That reminds me of my first or second year in college . . . in Texas, back in the late 60s. Texas law provided for up to LIFE IN PRISON for possession of A SINGLE SEED of marijuana. Any amount: LIFE (unless you were a middle-class white or better, I imagine . . . not that there was any racism or classism involved . . .).
I sometimes wonder if some poor soul from that time is STILL incarcerated in TX for a single joint or some stems and seeds that a cop found in his pocket or his car (or her purse or whatnot).
The Homecoming Day parade at my University included a 30-foot joint on wheels, and yes, pot use was common among a big percentage of the student body.
I'm not big on expecting drug prohibitions to do much to stop drug use. I also have read that the percentage of heroin addicts is pretty much the same regardless of its legal status; if you're NOT carrying a lot of pain, heroin use (i.e., being numb) isn't very attractive. If you ARE carrying a lot of pain, you'll do anything to take care of the problem.
But drug prohibitions are FABULOUS for quickly creating lawless and incredibly violent cartels -- and lots of government corruption, from the local level to the White House.
You got it. Ever watch The Untouchables with Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro?
It's so OBVIOUS in the film (as in life) that Prohibition was doing nothing but creating violence, corruption, and death, yet the enforcement of same was thought of by the not-very-smart Good Guys as something almost holy. THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING GOOD, but of course they were only participants in the festival of violence that -- what a surprise -- had been created BY Prohibition and which ENDED immediately when Prohibition was repealed.
Texas didn't look at prohibition and think ".... nah, this isn't a good idea?"
(I also replied with this to 369Q)
You got it. Ever watch The Untouchables with Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro?
It's so OBVIOUS in the film (as in life) that Prohibition was doing nothing but creating violence, corruption, and death, yet the enforcement of same was thought of by the not-very-smart Good Guys as something almost holy. THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING GOOD, but of course they were only participants in the festival of violence that -- what a surprise -- had been created BY Prohibition and which ENDED immediately when Prohibition was repealed.