Zack Galifianakis on Bill Maher
Jeanwah
Posts: 6,363
Zack Galifianakis on Bill Maher the other night...and his point is right on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeSmR2hf ... r_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeSmR2hf ... r_embedded
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It is sad that I know too many people who are opposed to "the pot" because they were born into a system where it is illegal and deemed "evil." These people are sheepish fools that have never had a single original thought. So, we can't enjoy a plant that grows naturally from the Earth, but we are given permission to kill ourselves with alcohol.
Interesting.
I am straight edge and have chosen not to smoke/drink, etc., but I believe if alcohol and cigarettes are legal, so should weed be.
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NO! But, feel free to complain about cocaine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13_QBC63UFk
had no idea he was islamophobic
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If you're talking domestic social justice issues, let's hear the other 9....cause I strongly disagree that there are many more pressing issues on that front.
it should've been obvious to anyone who's watched religulous
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
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quite a hoax.
having not seen it it, obviously it wasn't so obvious to me.
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poverty
environment
corporate welfare
violence against women
access to health care
I’m betting a lot of violence against women IS related to drug/alcohol abuse, which may improve if poverty rates and addiction treatment improve….the social/legal resources freed by ending the drug war would allow more assistance to abused women.
There are even ways to tie corporate welfare to the drug war, but I’m starting to push the 9th degree of separation there
The environment is an over-arching issue involved in everything we do…I know that you know that legalizing hemp (not a drug, but remaining illegal as a byproduct of the WOD) would be a huge help on that front.
But aside from the money saved (and therefore available to spend as we see fit – on debt, social programs, health care etc)….We have to think of the number of imprisoned, non-violent offenders in North America (the states in particular), think of the lives derailed by criminal records resulting in denial of school loans or job placements, take into account the number of deaths that could have been prevented by a more effective drug policy… given the inter-connectedness of these social issues, from a human cost standpoint, the drug war is as important an issue as any.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GbV6INqRxw
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
well that was obvious
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
Saying that there is an economic interest in ending the War on Drugs ignores the fact that prisons are an industry. An enormously profitable industry. In other words, there's a huge economic incentive to keeping people locked up -- non-violent drug offenders or not. Read anything by Angela Y. Davis for more information. So while I agree that ending the War on Drugs is a great goal, its not a simple issue you can attack. It implicates military spending, private industries and lobbyists, immigration, the drug trade, power struggles in developing countries etc. I agree that its a big, interconnected issue that touches on a lot of other issues. But that's precisely what makes ending the War on Drugs as a means to alleviate other social injustices pretty inefficient. In the time it would take to end the War on Drugs effectively, where would we be with the rest of those issues? Like I said, I agree that we should be working toward ending the War on Drugs, but I don't think ending the War on Drugs and legalizing hemp/cannabis is as simple as it sounds. There are very strong, influential and powerful interests running the other way.
As for more pressing social issues, pick up a newspaper?
Believe me, as a former public defender and now criminal prosecutor, I completely understand and appreciate what the War on Drugs does to people. But I'm not convinced that legalizing marijuana 1) truly alleviates all the issues you cite as resulting from the War on Drugs, 2) is even possible (given how profitable the War on Drugs is) and 3) is more of a pressing issue than say, gay rights, or ending poverty, or creating jobs. Why not attack those issues directly? Small bites first?
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well ... i wasn't the person who said 9 ... i was just pointing out some social justice issues that i think are more important ...
i'm sorry - but your argument tying in the war on drugs to everything else doesn't hold water ... in fact, i don't think the war and drugs and the issue of legalizing marijuana are exactly the same thing ... i can however agree the war on drugs is a waste of money and resources however, i don't think that if it was scrapped - we'd someohow end poverty or child hunger ... and no, i do not see legalizing marijuana as something that would necessarily help the environment ... if you are talking about the qualities of hemp in product vs. cotton ... we can already buy products made from hemp ...
I guess I'll respond to both of you at once...
i never said that ending the war on drugs (or MJ in particular) would be a magical band-aid solution to any of those problems, only that the money saved, and social ramifications, would help the other issues. I also don't mean to discount any of the other social issues. Obviously, immediate things like violence against women need to be met head-on and acted upon regardless of influencing factors. But we need to eventually address the influencing factors as well - I think improving education and care for addicts would be a step in that direction.
Ending MJ prohibition, and ending the drug war most definitely are synonymous....what were the latest numbers in the US? 60% of drug arrests were for MJ?
I'm aware of the number of industries and heavy hitters opposed to legalization based on their bottom line. I understand where you're coming from there, and agree. Despite my hopes, I hold very little optimism for any serious reform because of this, and always chuckle when people say things like "it will be legal soon". I just don't see it....
If the money spent on prisons was spent on hospitals and treatment centres, would the job creation not be a wash? I'm sure that's oversimplifying the issue, but in broad terms, that's the ideal. And while we're speaking in terms of ideals - the moral imperative of NOT locking up harmless drug offenders HAS to trump the jobs created by a for-profit prison system. Unfortunately, moral imperatives usually mean jack shit when it comes to money.
As for hemp and the environment (yes, hemp only - legalizing MJ would have no direct effect on the environment)...hemp can compete with thousands of products, not just cotton. I'm not entirely up to speed on the industry as it stands, but last I checked, it was incredibly difficult to be permitted to grow hemp in Canada (exponentially more difficult in the US), and I would guess that these regulations add up to essentially subsidizing the competing products (corporate welfare?). A huge number of those competing products are petro-chemical based (that's why hemp was prohibited in the first place - to allow bigger profits for the oil industry).....widespread use of commercial/agro hemp would make a much bigger environmental impact than most realize.
Obviously, I hold the WOD to a higher degree of accountability in what ails our society than you two do...but I think we all agree that it's ludicrous and reform is important enough to move on. No reason we can't tackle more than one problem at a time.
We agree on most everything, because yes, legalizing marijuana and curtailing or ending the War on Drugs would solve a lot of problems. No one disputes that. Where I disagree is that it is an equally pressing social injustice; I don't believe it is, if only because its simply not doable in any practical time frame or without any tremendous (insurmountable?) resistance. Its kind of like saying "the most important issue for world peace is sorting out the Middle East" (which is true), but then not focusing on the individual issues that, in part, compose the Middle East's problems. Clearly by viewing the problem as one giant mess (which it is), nothing will get done. You have to be pragmatic about it and prioritize which issue needs to be and can be addressed first. Same for the War on Drugs. Of course ending the War on Drugs could create jobs by building hospitals and treatment centers, but does that make it likely and thus "pressing?" And wouldn't the prison industry (a high growth industry unfortunately) just chirp back about all the prison jobs that are being cut? Of course.
My point is only that legalizing marijuana/hemp/etc is a great ideal and goal we should be working for, but perhaps a long-term goal. I see it as too interconnected a problem to solve in any timely and manageable way, when there are more immediate problems that could be addressed quicker (and alleviate suffering or injustice now). That's not to rank the suffering or injustice caused by the War on Drugs as less important, but again, probably a problem that's not solveable in the mean time anyway. Think of it: if we can't agree as a nation that health care is a good thing for all Americans to have, what chance do we have on agreeing to take any meaningful action toward ending the War on Drugs?
Like I said...small bites first...
Glad we're all on the same ship though.
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I won't give up on my anti-prohibitionist stance just because it's a difficult fight. I certainly don't see it as any more difficult to overcome than any of the other issues listed here. Ending poverty, violence against women, fixing the environment, tax reforms, access to health care, gay rights....none of these are going to change overnight. In fact, aside from tax reforms, and maybe gay rights, these are probably a lot MORE difficult/complicated issues to tackle than prohibtion. Baby steps have been underway for years - medicinal pot, changes in hemp regulation, changes in public opinion....it's not hopeless, and I'd be surprised to see meaningful change in the next decade...but it's working and still a very worthy cause IMO.