• Registered: 2012-05-10
  • Posts: 2

Topic: Law Follows Opinion

Change in the law, be it a legislative creation or the result of a grassroots initiative, follows popular opinion.  Consider gay marriage and cannabis legalization plotted across time:

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.co … -minority/

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.co … alization/

These two graphs reflect two opinions in flux which have reached a tipping point.  Gay marriage is rapidly becoming the law of the land.   And despite an occasional off the cuff remark by Joe Biden, or a referendum from N. Carolina, it receives little attention from the media compared to ten years ago.  Now gay marriage is rolling across the country from the coasts inward and from the north to the south.

Re medical marijuana, polls are closer to 70% approval (the above graph reflects out and out legalization.  Money, science and popular opinion are tumbling in in support of our cause.  A riff between Federal and State law is being played out in California and Colorado.  Analyzing popular opinion (see graphs above) leads me to the conclusion that this staged drama represents the last gasp of a dying coalition.

Conclusion:  I believe the big picture pivots on preserving the trend in popular opinion.  The law will follow.  Why?  It always does.  And eventually,  we get used to it.  Caucasian males answer me this:  does it surprise you to see a black woman in line where you vote?  How about in the front of the bus you're riding?  Not too shocking any more, is it.

Please reply with opinions on how we can maintain our plurality regarding the legalization of marijuana.

  • Registered: 2008-02-12
  • Posts: 1,723

Re: Law Follows Opinion

LW, welcome!

Take some time, do some searches, read many of the posts and links...
there is a large amount of information directly related to your question.

In short (from my perspective), the Federal Government has engaged
in duplicity for profit, for the BigPharma industry, private prisons...
They have said repeatedly, and STILL maintain, there is no medical value...
in the face of their own studies, and ignoring all other studies.
BUT!!!  At the same time, they have patented it!!!  For MEDICAL USE!!!
And they are licensing it to (wait for it!)  BIGPHARMA!!!

And they act like the Cartels are unrelated to America sad

Public opinion is fine, but most times money and corruption trumps
what the public wants.  I'd like to think that we had moved forward
in this context, but we haven't... we've moved towards an Orwellian
present that is truly dystopian. 

I'm waiting for another challenger like Timothy Leary who successfully
sued the government (all the way to the supreme court!) for
the 1937 Tax Act being unconstitutional,
and showing the collusion, etc. involved in THIS particular game sad

The H&HS patent should be challenged.  The CSA Schedule
should be changed and cannabis should be removed entirely
from it... I have to go back and look at the lowest Schedule
of the CSA, 'cause I know there have been a few lawsuits
filed to have the Schedule changed for Cannabis.

Citizens rights to grow and process their cannabis should be
upheld (allowing for nuisance factors from idiots, like
folks who're stinking up their neighbors with some skunky
goodness. Not everyone is a fan, and many folks could be
allergic... not cool, be a good citizen!)

  • Registered: 2012-05-10
  • Posts: 2

Re: Law Follows Opinion

You are right about following the money.  Others who benefit from the drug war (most of which have well organized PACs or who contribute to superPACs):

DEA
CIA/Military - Industrial Complex
Prison Guards Union
Law Enforcement
Defense Counsel Association
Alcohol Industry
Addiction Recovery Industry (28 day cash cow)
International Banking

Plus what you stated:

Big Pharma
Private Prisons

This makes for ominous opposition and solidifies my opinion.  We can't fight on equal footing in the cash game to get folks re-elected.  Again, my point stands that if the laws are going to change, they are going to have to follow a change in public opinion.  On the good side, public opinion is changing.  How do we capitalize on this?