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Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

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11–20 of 78 posts

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#11

It says 14% of americans smoke pot. I think that sounds accurate. That is 44 MILLION people in case you were wondering.

That is impossible and does not even pass a basic math.

317,493,212 is the current population. If you discard people under 15 and over 70 you are left with the you have (219685604) that means 20% of the US smoke pot.

Pot people always like to over inflate the usage number, but 14% too funny. Even in states where its legal, it would not reach 20%.

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#12

Marijuana laws are much like gun laws - you live in the US, but legal activity in one place is a felony worthy of decades in prison a few miles away - in the same country. It's mind-numbing that a citizen of the US would have to know 50 sets of laws just to travel around their own country.

In practice, such variance in the law is rarely of relevance to an interstate traveler. And the advantages federalism provides more than make it worth it.

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#13

It says 14% of americans smoke pot. I think that sounds accurate. That is 44 MILLION people in case you were wondering.

That's only within the last year. The percentage of American adults who have ever smoked weed is just under 90%. The former statistic isn't especially informative or useful for anything.

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#14

It says 14% of americans smoke pot. I think that sounds accurate. That is 44 MILLION people in case you were wondering.

That is impossible and does not even pass a basic math. 317,493,212 is the current population. If you discard people under 15 and over 70 you are left with the you have (219685604) that means 20% of the US smoke pot. Pot people always like to over inflate the usage number, but 14% too funny. Even in states where its legal, it would not reach 20%.

You'd be surprised.

(But to be more actual, it's probably those numbers are not for "smoke pot" but mostly for "have smoked pot at some point").

Btw -- you said "That is impossible and does not even pass a basic math", but you proved it neither impossible, nor that it does not pass some math test. Just that you find the number too big.

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#15
Marijuana is illegal federally, and federal laws supersede state laws.

Until the federal law changes, possession is risky even in states that have 'legalized' it. Things seem to exist in a sort of grey area where the federal government doesn't seem to be doing (many?) raids of medical marijuana or what's going on in Denver; but that doesn't mean you're in the clear.

I'm surprised people aren't more careful about this kind of stuff. Then again the TSA likes to show pictures of the large knives that people either forgot about or (somehow) didn't realize were illegal on planes.

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#16
Even if the cop sees the card, is it probable cause for a search?

Comparing it to gun laws and interstate travel, a gun permit seen in a wallet probably wouldn't lead to a search if the driver simply said there is no gun in the vehicle.

Pot seems like it would be under more scrutiny in a red state than guns sadly.

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#18
post #5

As already pointed out in another comment, don't volunteer that you have pot on you. At least make 'em work for it. Oh, you were thinking they were going to go easier on you? It doesn't work that way. On the one hand, yes, current marijuana laws in most states and at the federal level are ridiculous and unproductive. On the other hand, as a Washington resident what do you think I left at home on a recent motorcycle t…

Can you get in trouble for lying to a police officer?

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#19

It says 14% of americans smoke pot. I think that sounds accurate. That is 44 MILLION people in case you were wondering.

That is impossible and does not even pass a basic math. 317,493,212 is the current population. If you discard people under 15 and over 70 you are left with the you have (219685604) that means 20% of the US smoke pot. Pot people always like to over inflate the usage number, but 14% too funny. Even in states where its legal, it would not reach 20%.

People under 15 and over 70 smoke pot.

According to this 38% of those surveyed and 17% of those over 65 admit to trying pot. http://www.gallup.com/poll/163835/tried-marijuana-little-cha... Though only 7% of those surveyed where willing to say they currently smoked.

As a sanity check if you where 15 in 1960 your ~69.

PS: Though, in an informal survey's my 14-15 year old classmates in the 1990's over 90% said they had used pot in the last year. So their numbers might be off.

Re: Marijuana Law Mayhem Splits U.S. In Two as Travelers Get Busted

#20
post #17

I'll never understand the logic behind this. How come cancer patients or people recovering from surgery with powerful opiates aren't thrown in prison? Why is possessing a chemical used medically a crime? (This is mostly rhetorical, but still sad.)

Because the federal government hasn't approved it for medical use but isn't enforcing it either, so it's up to the states which have inconsistent laws.
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