5 ms·

US to end policy that let legal pot flourish

30 points by runesoerensen 9y ago

e40 9y ago
Sessions doesn't want to lose one tool in his belt to use against black people. The root of this is refer madness from the last century, where white men thought marijuana would make white women sleep with black men.
- urmish 9y ago
  How is this allowed on HN?
  - harrisonhjones 9y ago
    I wonder that as well. Is there a way to report a comment?
    - urmish 9y ago
      People with reputation can downvote I guess.
      - CalRobert 9y ago
        We can, but explaining the reasons for wanting a downvote would help. The war on drugs certainly has been a tool for racial oppression, and Sessions has expressed support for folks who back anti-miscegenation laws, so it seems like it's not a necessarily untrue statement. https://newrepublic.com/article/61363/closed-sessions https://newrepublic.com/article/61363/closed-sessions
      - Jtsummers 9y ago
        You can also flag them if you click on the timestamp next to the username.
        harrisonhjones 9y ago
        I didn't realize that. Thanks for the information! [edit] I spoke too soon. When clicking on the timestamp I am brought to a view showing the comment but I don't have an option to flag. Perhaps that still requires a minimum rep?
        Jtsummers 9y ago
        Possibly. I don't recall when I first noticed it and I hit the downvote karma threshold a few years ago so there's a good chance they're accessible at the same time.
  - specializeded 9y ago
    Could you explain why it shouldn’t be?
  - e40 9y ago
    https://www.theroot.com/7-reasons-black-america-should-fight-marijuana-prohibit-1793908834 https://www.theroot.com/7-reasons-black-america-should-fight... Just because something seems unbelievable doesn't mean it is made up. EDIT: backup for Sessions being a racist: http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/politics/jeff-sessions-racism-allegations/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/politics/jeff-sessions-racism-...
    - MSDOStoevsky 9y ago
      Your citations: a listicle; a news organization mocked widely for its propoganda and manipulation of facts. Good.
      - mynameisvlad 9y ago
        “Widely” by members of only one side of the political spectrum.
  - quasse 9y ago
    This is how: https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2016/03/23/nixons-drug-war-an-excuse-to-lock-up-blacks-and-protesters-continues/#22a1a2dd42c8 https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2016/03/23/nixons-d... From John Ehrlichman, counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under Nixon: "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."
    - gravy 9y ago
      This only makes it even less appropriate than that comment and the OP. Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Ideological or political battle or talking points. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
      - Jtsummers 9y ago
        You should note that that is from the "What to submit" section, which has no bearing on comments. In that regard this whole submission may be off-topic, but comments on a submission are inherently on-topic. But also see: Please don't complain that a submission is inappropriate. If a story is spam or off-topic, flag it. Don't feed egregious comments by replying; flag them instead. If you flag something, please don't also comment that you did. Just flag and go away from the submission.
- tyen_ 9y ago
  Thanks for clearing that up for me.
- jrs235 9y ago
  I think your comment would be better if you started if off with "I truly believe that Sessions is racist and ..." And while it may very much be true that he is, you lose influence with a large number of people by making the War on Drugs strictly about race. Why would Sessions want to give up "tools" that help him oppress people, particularly those that disagree with all the BS policy in place and being instituted?
  - e40 9y ago
    No doubt. I read this article upon waking and honestly, the destruction of lives that will take place if Sessions moves ahead with his bullshit is very upsetting to me.
  - gremlinsinc 9y ago
    Race does play a huge part, BUT I don't think it's all about race, I think part of it's also about the elites vs poor... elites always have access to drugs without enforcement when they choose or want it. Poor people are the ones hurt most by drug use/abuse the ones put in jail/etc.. it just so happens poverty is higher among minorities and so it does affect the black population more... From a party-line standpoint this has almost always benefited Republicans (hurt minorities) because majority of minorities vote Blue. Thankfully he's allowing U.S. attorneys to make the decision and HOPEFULLY most of those will make better choices on how to prosecute or NOT prosecute legal marijuana sales.
    - cmurf 9y ago
      Yes, this is mainly about classism where race is but one component in establishing class. Medical care, education, justice are not rights in Conservatism, they are products. And classism ensures that elites get better access to those products because they can pay for more or better versions of them. Attacking decent cheap products, can make them more expensive and exotic and thus in the hands of mainly elites; or it can remove them from the market entirely leaving only the more expensive established products, again mainly in the hands of elites.
avisser 9y ago
Cannabis raped and murdered Jeff Sessions' family in the 50s. It's the only explanation.
- sctb 9y ago
  Could we please not post unsubstantively like this? Hacker News is for thoughtful discussion. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
ams6110 9y ago
I'm not a person who would encourage marijuana (or other intoxicant) use, but the federal government should absolutely be letting the states set policy on that. While this is not new policy (it only removes some conditions established by the previous administration) this is an example of the sort of federal overreach that real conservatives and libertarians reject. For those who support heavy federal government involvement in healthcare and other social programs, this is an example of the downside of that approach.
- code_duck 9y ago
  The involvement of law-enforcement and legal cannabis businesses is a different approach than government involvement in social programs. I think it’s unfortunate that they treat this as a criminal issue rather than as a public health concern.
- rabboRubble 9y ago
  Problem is, not all marijuana products are intoxicating, see cannabidiol (CBD) and industrial hemp. You could actively encourage CBD and hemp ropes use without also encouraging intoxication. Unfortunately, federal law treats CBDs on par with heroin. I've taken CBD when I threw out my back and I can attest the only affect it had on me was the reduced use of ibuprofen and reduced stomach irritation from the ibu. The federal government is truly deranged when it comes to drug policy in general and marijuana specifically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol
justboxing 9y ago
Active Discussion => https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070516 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070516
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

30 points by runesoerensen 9y ago

e40 9y ago

Sessions doesn't want to lose one tool in his belt to use against black people. The root of this is refer madness from the last century, where white men thought marijuana would make white women sleep with black men.

urmish 9y ago
How is this allowed on HN?
- harrisonhjones 9y ago
  I wonder that as well. Is there a way to report a comment?
  - urmish 9y ago
    People with reputation can downvote I guess.
    - CalRobert 9y ago
      We can, but explaining the reasons for wanting a downvote would help. The war on drugs certainly has been a tool for racial oppression, and Sessions has expressed support for folks who back anti-miscegenation laws, so it seems like it's not a necessarily untrue statement. https://newrepublic.com/article/61363/closed-sessions https://newrepublic.com/article/61363/closed-sessions
    - Jtsummers 9y ago
      You can also flag them if you click on the timestamp next to the username.
      - harrisonhjones 9y ago
        I didn't realize that. Thanks for the information! [edit] I spoke too soon. When clicking on the timestamp I am brought to a view showing the comment but I don't have an option to flag. Perhaps that still requires a minimum rep?
        Jtsummers 9y ago
        Possibly. I don't recall when I first noticed it and I hit the downvote karma threshold a few years ago so there's a good chance they're accessible at the same time.
- specializeded 9y ago
  Could you explain why it shouldn’t be?
- e40 9y ago
  https://www.theroot.com/7-reasons-black-america-should-fight-marijuana-prohibit-1793908834 https://www.theroot.com/7-reasons-black-america-should-fight... Just because something seems unbelievable doesn't mean it is made up. EDIT: backup for Sessions being a racist: http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/politics/jeff-sessions-racism-allegations/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/politics/jeff-sessions-racism-...
  - MSDOStoevsky 9y ago
    Your citations: a listicle; a news organization mocked widely for its propoganda and manipulation of facts. Good.
    - mynameisvlad 9y ago
      “Widely” by members of only one side of the political spectrum.
- quasse 9y ago
  This is how: https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2016/03/23/nixons-drug-war-an-excuse-to-lock-up-blacks-and-protesters-continues/#22a1a2dd42c8 https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2016/03/23/nixons-d... From John Ehrlichman, counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under Nixon: "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."
  - gravy 9y ago
    This only makes it even less appropriate than that comment and the OP. Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Ideological or political battle or talking points. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
    - Jtsummers 9y ago
      You should note that that is from the "What to submit" section, which has no bearing on comments. In that regard this whole submission may be off-topic, but comments on a submission are inherently on-topic. But also see: Please don't complain that a submission is inappropriate. If a story is spam or off-topic, flag it. Don't feed egregious comments by replying; flag them instead. If you flag something, please don't also comment that you did. Just flag and go away from the submission.
tyen_ 9y ago
Thanks for clearing that up for me.
jrs235 9y ago
I think your comment would be better if you started if off with "I truly believe that Sessions is racist and ..." And while it may very much be true that he is, you lose influence with a large number of people by making the War on Drugs strictly about race. Why would Sessions want to give up "tools" that help him oppress people, particularly those that disagree with all the BS policy in place and being instituted?
- e40 9y ago
  No doubt. I read this article upon waking and honestly, the destruction of lives that will take place if Sessions moves ahead with his bullshit is very upsetting to me.
- gremlinsinc 9y ago
  Race does play a huge part, BUT I don't think it's all about race, I think part of it's also about the elites vs poor... elites always have access to drugs without enforcement when they choose or want it. Poor people are the ones hurt most by drug use/abuse the ones put in jail/etc.. it just so happens poverty is higher among minorities and so it does affect the black population more... From a party-line standpoint this has almost always benefited Republicans (hurt minorities) because majority of minorities vote Blue. Thankfully he's allowing U.S. attorneys to make the decision and HOPEFULLY most of those will make better choices on how to prosecute or NOT prosecute legal marijuana sales.
  - cmurf 9y ago
    Yes, this is mainly about classism where race is but one component in establishing class. Medical care, education, justice are not rights in Conservatism, they are products. And classism ensures that elites get better access to those products because they can pay for more or better versions of them. Attacking decent cheap products, can make them more expensive and exotic and thus in the hands of mainly elites; or it can remove them from the market entirely leaving only the more expensive established products, again mainly in the hands of elites.

avisser 9y ago

Cannabis raped and murdered Jeff Sessions' family in the 50s. It's the only explanation.

sctb 9y ago
Could we please not post unsubstantively like this? Hacker News is for thoughtful discussion. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

ams6110 9y ago

I'm not a person who would encourage marijuana (or other intoxicant) use, but the federal government should absolutely be letting the states set policy on that. While this is not new policy (it only removes some conditions established by the previous administration) this is an example of the sort of federal overreach that real conservatives and libertarians reject. For those who support heavy federal government involvement in healthcare and other social programs, this is an example of the downside of that approach.

code_duck 9y ago
The involvement of law-enforcement and legal cannabis businesses is a different approach than government involvement in social programs. I think it’s unfortunate that they treat this as a criminal issue rather than as a public health concern.
rabboRubble 9y ago
Problem is, not all marijuana products are intoxicating, see cannabidiol (CBD) and industrial hemp. You could actively encourage CBD and hemp ropes use without also encouraging intoxication. Unfortunately, federal law treats CBDs on par with heroin. I've taken CBD when I threw out my back and I can attest the only affect it had on me was the reduced use of ibuprofen and reduced stomach irritation from the ibu. The federal government is truly deranged when it comes to drug policy in general and marijuana specifically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol

justboxing 9y ago

Active Discussion => https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070516 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070516

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]