Legalization Of Weed Vs. Monsanto

Do you favor recreational marijuana being made legal in all 50 states?

Thanks for the A2A:I have no problem with legalization in general.I see two major problems with Federal level legalization.1.) You will have a whole new set of regulations and taxes applied ON TOP of the already difficult to follow State level regulations and taxes (of which there are 33 different sets).The additional tax burden and cost of compliance will push smaller State-level providers out of the industry. Costs could be pushed UP, driving more consumers back to the black market.2.) We already have Molson-Coors, Bayer-Monsanto, COKE, Altria (Phillip-Morris) and other big corporations buying into the industry. Both buying and partnering with current State-level producers, and buying shares of those companies.“BIG WEED” will be your provider. The people who GMO’d your fruits and vegetables, pumped your meat full of antibiotics and hormones, control the alcohol and tobacco industries, put a Starbucks on every corner, and got us addicted to oxy will be your new “weed guy”.Especially anyone into “weed culture” who fancies themselves as a “subversive” or a “rebel” WILL NOT BE HAPPY with how legal cannabis shakes out.

Should marijuana be legalized globally? If so, what are the pros & cons? Would people use it in the wrong way & if so, what would the consequences be?

What we're already seeing across North America is the corporatization of Marijuana. Yup…BIG WEED is coming.Mexico and Canada have legalized completely. In the US 31 States have some sort of legalization or decriminalization in place (some more effective than others).With most Democrats “pro-legal" and most Republicans “pro-tax dollars”, I expect marijuana to be legal, or at least removed from schedule one in the next 2 to 3 years. Trump has not shown any opposition to this.What I'm already seeing in the industry is big companies like Molson-Coors, Bayer-Monsanto, and the primary Coca Cola distributor buying in. They're buy shares of the existing bigger companies, and in some cases buying grow ops and extractors as well.I think the “weed culture” types are going to be very disappointed when the people who got us hooked on opiates, destroyed us with corn sugar, put a Starbucks on every corner, and control the alcohol market are in charge of their weed.It's a fun and games now, with entrepreneurs firing up a store or two, little local extraction projects, and state level grow operations. But once Monsanto starts hybridizing for ThC potency with no regard for cannabinoid balance, extracting oils as potent as opium tar, and marketing like breakfast cereal — not good.Not good at all.

Now that Monsanto has created a strain of cannabis, does marijuana stand a chance of being legalized, and do you think regular pot smokers will fear the new strain?

Yes and yes.First, though, for the past 10 years or so, it has already been on the verge of legalization.  Monsanto's involvement might have a bit of influence on the powers that be, but the most influential action is state level legalization.  The DEA, while grossly over funded, isn't omnipotent and the AG relies on the cooperation of local agencies for drug law enforcement.  But, if states are telling their agencies to leave all that alone, the laws are de facto-ly nonexistent.  Besides, the DoJ has already issued a statement essentially saying they won't investigate low level marijuana crimes.The second part, whether or not some users will fear a Monsanto strain, is certainly yes.  If people suddenly develop fear of the Monsanto corn that they have been eating for decades, it is safe to assume that people will develop a fear for other products.  Not to mention that weed consumers tend to have a higher percentage of certain types of people among their ranks that are extra opposed to Monsanto and Monsanto-esque activity and like a good conspiracy.It isn't rational, though.  These same people have been consuming Monsanto or other GMO products for years, and there is no real research that suggests any of it is bad for you.  People have been knowingly GMingOs since at least Mendel in the form of selective breeding, and it goes back way further than that.  Yes, today's methods are faster and more science-y, but that doesn't mean its bad.And, seriously, weed is probably one of the most publically modified plants I have ever heard of.  There are hundreds of strains now as a result of selective breeding, hybridization, cloning, grafting, and pretty much any other method short from splicing DNA under a SEM.But, people don't like facts or reason since opinion has the inertia of a large planet.

What is your reason for supporting marijuana prohibition?

I don't support marijuana prohibition. I live in the Netherlands now, where marijuana has been decriminalised.The reason was to separate marijuana, which is considered a soft drug, from cocaine and heroin. Previously (I have been told by people who grew up here) marijuana was only sold by the same dealers who had heroin.Now, you can legally buy marijuana at a coffee shop, and there is less of a problem with hard drugs.My American experience confirms this, by the way. Previously, if I wanted to buy some, I had to go to a known "crack area." The guy who sold it also dealt crack. And with crack you have violence.TL;DR: I oppose marijuana prohibition, for the reasons given. But other nations will have to decide for themselves how they will address the issue.

Why are some pharmaceutical companies spending money to block legalization of marijuana in some states?

I think you got some really good answers here. The reality is the pharmaceutical industry (not just companies) have gotten an unproportional amount of power in our country and damn near run our government (but that’s just me). And in the wake of how “we can grab more” (which was why antitrust laws were passed by the way) they have done a great job of basically bullying any other form of healthcare available that could be beneficial as “placebo”, “dangerous”, or just plain seen as a scam.I would refer you to “Medicine on Trial”: ISBN-10: 0679727329 which gives a full unvarnished look at Medical history and pharmaceutic relationship with other health modalities. If Pharma had their way all herbal supplements would be illegal, all vitamin companies would be owned and run by Bayer-Monsanto, and all of us would be on a minimum of 23–25 drugs a day. Why? Because it benefits them. Our healthcare system is broken, there is no doubt (and you’re talking to a 30 year biller, not only at Santa Cruz Ambulance, but at hospitals and clinics), and worse still is that everyone is kowtowing to the insurance companies and Pharma as to what is being covered or not in medication costs and what is tiered.I just want to let you know that I was in the hospital at the beginning of the year, was IN WRITING told to stop taking my medical cannabis (which begs the term “medical” doesn’t it?) while they wanted to prescribe me Tramadol (opioids) which I cannot take due to Two serotonin syndrome that just about killed me.By the time you’ve taken ONE pill to help you with ONE problem, another pill has to be given to deal with your side effects of pill one. And there is a vast majority of medications that also artificially raises your blood sugar, (along with the sugar in your foods that may not be labelled correctly), which now gives you Diabetes. In the end, before I started using cannabis, I was on 23 pills a day and I am not alone.  What do I have now? 4 necessary medications (thyroid, Armour), Vitamin D2 50k units, and two asthma inhalers, that potentially could be reduced further. So why do they fight with all they have? Ask Burroughs Welcome why they chose to charge $258.00 per PILL for AIDS patients back in 1989, and why ACT UP had to march to save their friends, lovers and family.