"I have yet to hear a legalization proponent talk about how society will be enhanced, how the real social problems facing our country will be improved by legalizing yet another substance that compromises people's five senses," said John Lovell, government relations manager for the group." It would take a major part of criminals income away from them,,just how stupid does one have to be to not realize the impact removing marijuana from the black market would make?
If many people switch from alcohol to cannabis how would society be enhanced? Let me count the ways. Fewer deaths due to drunken driving. Fewer drunken fights. Fewer domestic violence cases. Fewer murders. Fewer children being physically and sexually abused. Fewer rapes. Now that wasn't hard was it?
Less young (usually minority) men getting sent to jail and stripped of oppertunties and forced into hustling on the street and going back to prison. The whole idea of Criminals going to jail not jail creating criminals
Tax revenues for education, affordable college tuition Get the cartels out of the weed business and out of the forests Creates jobs Keeps weed profits in the US Stimulates general economy (if you grow your own, that's a lot of money saved to spend on other things) Frees up the cops to work on more important things
You forgot to quote the part where he is the spokesman for the CA Police Chiefs Association. He's no dummy. He wants his cash cow to continue on behalf of his fellow corporate raiders. The best rebuttal for the "yet another intoxicant in our society argument" is to ask if they believe in science. (How can one say no to such a question?) "Yet another intoxicant" assumes it is the same or worse than the other intoxicants out there. It has a different chemical makeup, different effects on the user, different harm potential. The statement should read "different and less harmful intoxicant" if we are to allow science to have any say in our laws. The "not another intoxicant" argument is like creationism versus evolution in schools. Under one policy, science has to be completely disregarded. I don't think Americans are willing to do that, as a majority. At least I hope they won't accept that. And you can see which group/mindset WOULD agree to throw science out the window. A small minority.
Not to mention the million or so they arrest per year will no longer be having their lives ruined by these laws.