Re:Stoned drivers are safer than drunk ones, new federal dat...
by zzz157 on Monday May 16, 2016 @07:48PM
(#11710454)
A lot. We've had the "big 5" industries fighting against us for decades:
* Pharma (because of the amazing and un-patentable medical applications of it)
* Private Criminal Justice and Police Unions (Marijuana is one of the easiest things to make an arrest on--private prisons profit, probation companies profit, inmate phone services, phone providers, ankle bracelet companies, police equipment companies, etc. all profit. For Police Unions, marijuana-related crimes accounting for a sizable percentage of police stops and arrests, legal weed means less jobs and potentially lower pay. Additionally, Marijuana is easy to identify from a distance due to smell, and gives an officer probable cause to make a stop and search for other illegal activity)
* Paper/Textiles (Hemp!)
* Alcohol (Legal weed potentially means a loss of sales for the only major legal intoxicant.)
* Tobacco (Legal weed means something for people to smoke that isn't a cigarette.)
Some of these industries are shifting. Big Tobacco, for example, seems to be trying to join the party, and has made some moves that indicate a desire to enter the industry. I think Paper and Textiles either will come around or already are, as I think Hemp could be easily incorporated into the existing industry.
But yeah, I believe that Big Pharma is as big of a part of this as police unions and Big Criminal Justice.
* Pharma (because of the amazing and un-patentable medical applications of it)
* Private Criminal Justice and Police Unions (Marijuana is one of the easiest things to make an arrest on--private prisons profit, probation companies profit, inmate phone services, phone providers, ankle bracelet companies, police equipment companies, etc. all profit. For Police Unions, marijuana-related crimes accounting for a sizable percentage of police stops and arrests, legal weed means less jobs and potentially lower pay. Additionally, Marijuana is easy to identify from a distance due to smell, and gives an officer probable cause to make a stop and search for other illegal activity)
* Paper/Textiles (Hemp!)
* Alcohol (Legal weed potentially means a loss of sales for the only major legal intoxicant.)
* Tobacco (Legal weed means something for people to smoke that isn't a cigarette.)
Some of these industries are shifting. Big Tobacco, for example, seems to be trying to join the party, and has made some moves that indicate a desire to enter the industry. I think Paper and Textiles either will come around or already are, as I think Hemp could be easily incorporated into the existing industry.
But yeah, I believe that Big Pharma is as big of a part of this as police unions and Big Criminal Justice.