Ethan Nadelmann on CNN: The Growing Debate to Legalize Marijuana

[LadyLauretta]

Wow!!! the president just contradicted himself. In another vide he says he thinks are are greater things to use time and money on over the drug war (on pot).

[biometal28]

These guys don't know what they are talking about!!! then again they are only news reporters and burocrats It is FALSE that Marijuana is stronger, they are only repeating what someone else has said before them so they don't look STUPID...

[DShelmon21]

Did he just say SchwarzeNIGGER? Wow... Ass

[Codjr]

Is everyone forgetting about the forty billion we spend every year fighting marijuana? That alone with all the other reasons should be enough to end the ridiculous laws against it.

[MrBadbizness]

I agree whole-heartedly. 40bil' is a lot of money, but I think it's all a big prank. There is no deficit, no debt, no economy issues. Just a lot of bald old congressman trying to spice up their lives, with playing pranks on it's own country. The evidence is there.....G-Bush was not a good pres., so why did he stay in office 4 4years? 2 build up a debt 4 the nxt pres. 2 play with. After him though, change should come. Legal canny' will change the world, but the Gov. planned 4 this a while back...

[MrBadbizness]

Now, I've changed my mind. I don't want the Gov. stickn' their snobby noses all up in my personal smokin' habits & routines. And there gonna tax it as well? You might think, "Ahh, it's not that bad". Well, it is!!!! To regain a "solid state of an economy", they're gonna tax the shit outta weed!!! If you wanna dBag of weed, it will cost you $17.25!!! $7 dollars over the price!!! I'd rather sneak 2 a alley and get it 4 $10 bucks!!!

[ehhhhhhhhhh]

In "The Science of Marijuana" written by Leslie Iversen it is proven that the higher the THC content of marijuana, the less one needs to inhale to gain the desired high. Therefore, cannabis with higher THC content leads to smokers inhaling less tar into their lungs.

Smoking higher potency marijuana is measurably less harmful than smoking 'regular' potency marijuana. The highs are not drastically different, as the media seems to think.

[XBE84]

What a horse shit argument...

Forget the fact that NO amount of marijuana can cause a fatal overdose.

The tired old "This isn't the same pot your daddy smoked" argument, really has no logical or scientific merit. It's still THC, which has been proved over and over again to be remarkably benign

75% of the overall revenue that violent Mexican drug cartels rake in comes from their biggest cash crop: marijuana.

Legalization will IMMEDIATELY reap positive benefits across the board.

[manontheedge68]

such bullshit on potency. they had stuff in the 60's better than the average weed today, just slightly less potent than our most potent weed. and its just like alchohol% in drinks, if its 40% you only take a shot, if its 6% you drink a whole bottle...

[pchatingliberal]

Yes it's rediculas the lies they get away with telling, the word "skunk" has been around for decades, and good hash will always be stronger then bud. In the past they talked about racism and religion to put people off, (check out the whole refer madness, madness) In 20 years time we will probably look back to now and think how stupid we were to believe in such things, but we will probably be convinced that the new strain or research is different.

[Puabond]

The legalization debate has gone from it's seeds in the 60's past its vegetative state from the 70s-00's and has begun to flower into a full public backing.

Just before mid term elections we will hear more about this. It will most likely remain illegal for our lifetimes, unless politicians are pushed hard enough by this recession, boarder violence, and medical advocates.

The good news is that the best way to support legalization is civil disobedience.

Legalization is the cure.

[madmax5588]

Lol!!! I can't believe that guy's argument against legalization at 2:07 was because marijuana is too potent. If it were legalized then the control of potency would be in the hands of the government rather than criminals trying to make more money. That is actually a good argument for legalizing it hahaha

[mismos00]

Legalize it NOW!

[clawedfish]

I'm not against legalizing marijuana. I just don't like this debate about how much revenue it would generate.

They never say how much money they'll lose from other mediums such as pharmcos and police money seizures.

That's just that arguement within itself I don't like. I think the dependency on those revenues are wrong, because the mediums usually do more damage than good.

[manontheedge68]

how is making money off selling an herb to people not better than stealing money from people?

[clawedfish]

I agree and already tried to state that.

What I'm trying to say is that the government of California is having a bad accounting foresight

[NikoKun]

The argument against legalization here is the "social costs" they think legalization will cause.

But we already have millions of Marijuana users who use on a regular basis, and besides the occasional situational incident, the world isn't coming to an end because of those users. And in countries that decriminalize, use doesn't go up by THAT much, and actually eventually declines in long term.

I propose that current costs of Prohibition FAR outweigh any possible costs after legalization!

[doomsdaymonster7]

YES! YES! YES!

I work in medicine and have stopped drinking altogether, because I've seen what alcohol does to human body both short & long term vs. marijuana. Alcohol is actually WAY worse.

You can die from drinking too much on one night. You can't OD on marijuana alone. There are long term negative effects with abuse, but so is with alcohol!

More than that, I am SICK of government telling me what I can and cannot put into my body. WHY IS IT THEIR BUSINESS??? LETS TAKE OUR FREEDOM BACK!!!

[Henrin]

......finished watching the video.... god dam these stupid polticians

"i dont think".... FUCK WHAT YOU THINK !!!!!!!!! your not a fucking scientist!!!

man fuck these politicians and these fucking cops.

i hope the libertarian party achieves greater power . we need a 3 party state pronto.something as simple as an odd number should do the trick. ( beleive it or not).

[Henrin]

lol make the border safer?? wtf!?!?! only an end to the drug war will do that. also i dont see how the fucking border will be safer.... streets will....

[winblue3]

Just legalize it already! Why are we debating this? Is this a free fucking country or not? My hats off to Arnold, a Republican of all things, for bringing this forward. I may just have to move back to Cali!

[amymcools]

The very reason pot is now so strong, is the fact that's it's illegal and unregulated. That's why moonshine was so strong and poisonous. Make it legal, regulate it. Common sense, silly anti-drug man!

[twothlesswonder]

"The very reason pot is now so strong"

This fact is irrelevent anyway. Stronger or not, you still can't OD. Also, the fact that it's stronger only means you don't have to consume as much. Legalization doesn't imply not educating about it. His arguement was fallacious and misleading...

[amymcools]

It's an argument that many pro-drug war people make: that drugs are dangerous & therefore need to be made illegal. One reason why the drug war needs to end, I argue, is that: drugs can be dangerous and therefore need to be legalized and regulated. Of course his argument was misleading, that was exactly my point.

[xxPotStarxx]

Now that polls have shown majority support of marijuana. What is DPA's report on the changes we are getting. I'd really like to see Ethan give a report card on our movement as compared to last year. And also, his thoughts on the future, and maybe even predictions.

[cat00012000]

Drug watch international - Do these guys seem like liars to you? They should. What do they get out of it? These are people that can't find a real job. Their world is disappearing, and I wish they  would disappear right along with it.

[doomsdaymonster7]

They're like the homophobes who are against gay marriage (these are the SAME people, I promise you)...probably anti-abortion too. These bitches all LOVE it when their government tells them how to live and what to do.

[HugeJohn51]

of course, that's freedom! freedom to do whatever you want as long as conservatives approve!

[doomsdaymonster7]

I see where this country is going now. It might take a while to get there, but I'll still be around when the civil rights of our generation are taken back by us.

The mere fact that this discussion is taking place in public forum and that politicians are finally figuring out that pot smokers (all of the millions of them) are a sweet voting body. Politicians are vote-whores. Ergo...

You'll see how Republicans will suddenly become social moderates, they'll have to if they want to win again.

[manontheedge68]

its all about politicians realizing that theres more voters for legalisation than against it, then the odds for reelection favor legalizing it.. california governor said he was against it officialy before, but as soon as a poll said like 60% of californians want it legal, he wanted to talk about ti.

[AbbeyNormal]

Ethan is a great spokesperson, he really knows how to get the info out there quickly and concisely.

2:15- What a retard. He thinks stronger marijuana is worse? That just means you smoke less. You don't have to drink the whole 8 0z of Jack Daniels, dumbass.

[mackraceing]

you drink your JD and i will keep my herb.Maybe Oboma is afraid of getting shot by out of control CIA or DEA or any of the other prohibition clowns.Peace

[jwfcp]

its very disingenuous to claim a plant that has been cultivated by humans for thousands of years is going to suddenly get twice as potent over the last 50 years. especially as marijuana is less harmful than alcohol.

[SiCoFgOvErNmEnT]

Prohibition was fueled by racism too!!

[HarryJAnslinger]

Good job DPA

[1gudspliff]

bunch of fucking crooks!

[garveya1]

This is good to see.