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From: mikep@ism780c.UUCP
Newsgroups: alt.flame,misc.legal
Subject: Re: More misinformation about pot
Message-ID: <7627@ism780c.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 23-Oct-87 20:52:24 EST
Article-I.D.: ism780c.7627
Posted: Fri Oct 23 20:52:24 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Oct-87 19:27:43 EST
References: <You know who> <2015@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Reply-To: mikep@ism780c.UUCP (Michael A. Petonic)
Distribution: na
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Santa Monica CA
Lines: 41
Xref: hoptoad alt.flame:340 misc.legal:3009

>In article <1072@puff.wisc.edu> mading@puff.wisc.edu (Eric Mading) writes:
>>
>>I read that the government does tax drugs.  In fact, marijuana was not made 
>>illegal, the law established a hefty tax on marijuana in 1937.  So those who 
>>are saying that marijuana should be made legal can shut up now: marijuana is
>>legal, if you pay the tax on it.
>>
In article <2015@gryphon> richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) writes:
>
>Brilliant. You can indeed legally sell buy pot if you have the tax stamp.
>
>But you can't get the tax stamp.

Ah, but, when I was living in Arizona, I heard you could buy a tax
stamp for pot.  I heard this in high school about 4 years ago.  At
the time, I wanted to go and buy one for a souvineer.  I didn't
do drugs and so the obvious harmful effect of buying the stamp
(being watched closely) wouldn't affect me.  However, after more
thought, I decided that buying a stamp would probably affect all
future chances of getting a security clearance.

Richard Sexton mentions (later on in the article) that educated
choices are what is needed.  True.  I didn't do drugs because of
a personal commitement to my parents.  Oh, I've tried pot and
used it regularly in the first quarter of my senior year in H.S.,
but I decided to quit because I didn't need it (and there was
that worry about a security clearance).  

I don't hold it against people if they do what they want as long
as it remains a "victimless crime."  A lot of people will rant and
rave (just as I did until a little while ago) that drugs are
not a victimless crime.  I guess it all depends on how deep you
want to carry an argument.  Using the same reasoning, you could
almost name any action as a crime having a victim.

But, unlike most "let anyone smoke or shoot what they want" type
people, I do beleive there is a difference between certain substances.
I guess "survival of the fittest" would weed out those too stupid
to realize that PCP (and other major biggie killers) are bad news.

-MikeP