Exclusive: Why Can’t You Smoke Pot? Because Lobbyists Are Getting Rich Off of the War on Drugs

[unhappycamper]

http://www.republicreport.org/2012/exclusive-why-cant-you-smoke-pot-because-lobbyists-are-getting-rich-off-of-the-war-on-drugs/




Police union lobbyist John Lovell


Exclusive: Why Can’t You Smoke Pot? Because Lobbyists Are Getting Rich Off of the War on Drugs
Lee Fang 3.7.2012 at 11:00 AM

John Lovell is a lobbyist who makes a lot of money from making sure you can’t smoke a joint. That’s his job. He’s a lobbyist for the police unions in Sacramento, and he is a driving force behind grabbing Federal dollars to shut down the California marijuana industry. I’ll get to the evidence on this important story in a bit, but first, some context.

At some point in the distant past, the war on drugs might have been popular. But not anymore — the polling is clear, but beyond that, the last three Presidents have used illegal drugs. So why do we still put hundreds of thousands of people in steel cages for pot-related offenses? Well, there are many reasons, but one of them is, of course, money in politics. Corruption. Whatever you want to call it, it’s why you can’t smoke a joint without committing a crime, though of course you can ingest any number of pills or drinks completely within the law.

Some of the groups who want to keep the drug illegal are police unions that want more members to pay more dues. One of the primary sources for cash for more policing activities are Federal grants for penalizing illegal drug use, which help pay for overtime, additional police officers, and equipment for the force. That’s what Lovell does, he gets those grants. He also fights against democratic mechanisms to legalize drugs.

In 2010, California considered Prop 19, a measure to legalize marijuana and tax it as alcohol. The proposition gained more votes than Meg Whitman, the former eBay executive and Republican gubernatorial nominee that year, but failed to pass. Opponents of the initiative ran ads, organized rallies, and spread conspiracy theories about billionaire George Soros to confuse voters.

[JohnnyRingo]

1. I'm sure profit is an important factor, but weed has been decriminalized everywhere.

I think a lot of the reason we haven't seen total legalization is because "soft on drugs" is still an effective campaign killer. Dirty campaign commercials don't define the difference between weed and crack.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Weed has been decriminalized in 13 or 14 states, not "everywhere."

In all the other states, possessing a joint gets you a criminal record at the least, typically a fine, and in some places, jail time.

[Vincardog]

3. I think a lot of the reason we haven't seen total legalization is because the cantidates

get donations from people who profit of the illegality.
Big Pharm. and the prison industry.

[HughBeaumont]

5. Lumber, paper, anything relating to fabric, etc . . .

No doubt the Kochs, with all of their pulp-based products, have an interest in not legalizing hemp.

Also, as the Mad Fold-In once said, it'd take a chunk out of the mighty Booze business . . . and Big Tobacco would also suffer.

[mike_c]

4. one face of the prison industrial complex....

Law enforcement and corrections is a growth industry in the country that jails a greater proportion of its citizens than any other.