Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm super cynical about progressive politics in Mississippi If cannabis legalisation gets branded as a progressive issue it’s DOA. In Mississippi as well as in most states.
"progressive politics" means something different to me in Mississippi than what it might in California. And it means something different to the typical Republican in Mississippi vs the typical Democrat. I define progressive politics as "social reform" for ordinary people, i.e. legalizing marijuana and making amends for the harm the former laws caused, free pre-k education, etc. Not whatever they paint it to be on Fox…
Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
151–160 of 181 posts
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
> was a voter-led initiative and the state legislature tried to ignore it That this was a grass-roots initiative makes it more durable. It also means challengers can use it as a wedge issue, at the state level and federally.
Why haven't Democrats full-throatily supported legalization? I understand why Republicans haven't, but this seems so popular it seems crazy a major political party hasn't jumped on board.
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#153You can buy THC gummies and THC vapes in certain Alabama gas stations now as well. I have no idea how this works legally though because it was only relatively recently legalized for medical use here. Must be something to do with some CBD-adjacent regulation that snuck in during COVID.
It's usually either CBD or Delta-8. It's legal because of the Farm Bill a few years back that legalized hemp, making CBD and D8 legal in the process. Just to be clear though, this stuff won't get you high like weed. You might feel a little more relaxed because of the CBD but that's about it.
You are absolutely incorrect. From a psychoactive perspective, delta-8 is pretty much indistinguishable from pure THC (a.k.a. delta-9). In my experience the difference is mostly about quantity; it takes about 30% more delta-8.
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#154When will we start seeing legislation forbidding employer discrimination against legal cannabis users in the form of drug tests? No one cares if you've had a drink over the weekend, on your own time, as long as it's not affecting your on-the-job performance. Some companies have parties where alcohol is served, and going for drinks after work is quite common. Yet so many companies require you to take drug tests before…
The key issue we have is that there are somewhat accurate-ish tests to check for acute and past alcohol usage, as well as defined impairment levels, but for THC we have neither breathalyzer-style tests nor impairment level standards. FWIW it's not even clear if blood should be tested for active THC, for byproducts or waste products. That makes dealing with MJ impairment a bit of troublesome for companies... I agree t…
> If you can do the job it shouldn't matter (and it's none of their business) if you're using a drug.
The thing is, there is no such thing as "can do the job" for operating machinery. We do have thresholds for allowed impairment from alcohol - e.g. in Germany it's if you cause an accident or show impairments of any kind with > 0.3‰ or get caught even without symptoms (aka random stop-and-blow) with >0.5‰ gets you an infraction ticket under §24a StVG, everything above 0.5‰ gets you a criminal DUI charge under §316 StGB.
These are pretty much generalized thresholds established over decades of research, and even then these lack fairness - as someone used to a liter of vodka a day will be walking straight if he only has 1l of beer, whereas your average random person won't be able to drive safely after the same amount of beer. And someone who has had only six hours of shit sleep, there is no detection at all assuming the data recorder of the truck shows that the driver has not operated it in the last 11 hours. But: it's the best we have.
For weed and other drugs, we don't have any kind of data to base a decision like "can you operate a vehicle/machinery" safely on, there is absolutely no way or standard to test for the physical ability to drive in any way and "self-assessment" of impairment state will always be notoriously unreliable. That is the problem.
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
Still, it's an island of sanity in the middle of Texas.
It absolutely is not. It used to be, I guess. Yes, people there, generally, are less overtly racist and bigoted, and there is some cool infrastructure, but it trades in rural isolationist prejudice for tech-tainted delusional world building, at the cost of its once beautiful community and culture. Austin is scary, I have never lived in a city that so clearly feels like it has a mind of its own, that changes so much a…
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#156By the way in some countries where medical marijuana has been legalized it still is practically impossible to get a prescription (because all doctors are radically conservative and don't believe in medical marijuana) and even for those lucky to get it prescribed it can be 2-5 times the price of high quality black market weed.
Only the refillable prescription containers are 2-5 times the price. ;-)
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
"progressive politics" means something different to me in Mississippi than what it might in California. And it means something different to the typical Republican in Mississippi vs the typical Democrat. I define progressive politics as "social reform" for ordinary people, i.e. legalizing marijuana and making amends for the harm the former laws caused, free pre-k education, etc. Not whatever they paint it to be on Fox…
If you really want to make Mississippi more like California, your highest priority should arguably be to support economic freedom and moderately libertarian policy stances - not "progressive" ones.
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why haven't Democrats full-throatily supported legalization? I understand why Republicans haven't, but this seems so popular it seems crazy a major political party hasn't jumped on board.
The DNC is a center-right party that America's liberal and left blocs vote for because they don't have a viable alternative. They don't win any votes by supporting legalization (they have all those reluctant votes anyways), and publicly supporting legalization gives their far-right opposing party free ammunition (the DNC wants your kids to be stoned, urban crime, &c.). So it's all downside, with no upside.
In today's polarized climate, you can say that about almost any issue whatsoever.
Compare the Democrats' reluctance to take on and lead on issues to the modus operandi of the Republicans, who have not hesitated to innovate and lead in the political sphere even when the ideas they float are laughed at and villified by their opposition and the mainstream media. Despite that they still manage to fire up their base, change the national conversation, and get their leaders elected.
Democrats don't have to have the equivalent of FOX News or conservative talk radio (they tried that with Air America[1] and failed), but they could show some backbone and actually lead rather than always reacting to Republicans framing the issues.
The nation has clearly moved on past believing in Reefer Madness style anti-cannabis propaganda, and even the risk-averse Democratic leadership should recognize that cannabis legalization is an issue with broad national support and that this is a leadership opportunity.
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_America_(radio_network)
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#159For those not familiar with US society, this is huge. Mississippi is generally regarded, true or not, as a conservative state, perhaps even reactionary. Its government was a staunch defender of slavery, the later Jim Crow laws which mandated racial segregation, Negro voting disenfranchisement; the last to repeal alcohol prohibition; still frequently challenging abortion rights; among other such. Mississippi is kind o…
Doubtful! The state legislatures in these states are generally more conservative than the population and are generally against these measures. In Wisconsin for example there is currently no chance of legalization because the state legislature is gerrymandered within an inch of its life for some of the most radical republicans in the country, despite the fact that generally the state votes for democratic representatives at the federal and state level.
Re: Mississippi is 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are spouting dangerous nonsense. The data is overwhelming, and every death that could have been avoided, of which many are documented on social media is a tragedy. They probably should legalize, control and de-crime-cartel the illegal cocaine industry, it would lead to better outcomes than the war on drugs. Less death, less negative medical outcomes, less load on the health system directly and indirectly through…
I'm not spouting anything dangerous. The data is indeed overwhelming and you must be living under a rock if you are not familiar with the numbers. > every death that could have been avoided, of which many are documented on social media is a tragedy Social media? Give me a break. There are legitimate sources that confirm every single word that I've said. Heck, even CDC is now "with me" on that front - https://thehill.…