
Gmail Creator Joins Facebook Co-Founder, Donates 100K To Legalize Marijuana - Mistone
http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/29/marijuana/
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kristofferR
Damn, I really hope Prop 19 passes. I'm not even American, but a passage would
mark the start of the end of the dreadful war on marijuana around the world.
Other states would follow, then Latin America (the former Mexican President
said "May God let it pass" about Prop 19), countries in Europe (Netherlands,
Spain, Denmark) and slowly it would be legalized around the world. Defeat
would be a major setback.

I urge all Californians who're reading this to do their absolute best to make
it pass in these last vital days. Join the phone banks, make sure all your
friends are voting, campaign at universities. It could make a large
difference, larger than you probably think.

~~~
dasht
This appears to be roughly how prohibition against alcohol ended in the US:
first with essentially universal defiance; then with a popular wink-wink-nod-
nod "medical alcohol" exemption of sketchy legality; then with faultering
enforcement and inconsistent and imperfect legal codes... and finally repeal.
(Of course, for MJ the situation should be simpler because no amendment is
needed to the US Constitution to end prohibition... merely an act of
Congress.)

~~~
borism
Pot was almost legal in Netherlands since 70s, yet very few countries followed
suit. What makes California so special that it will make the end of cannabis
prohibition viral? I'm highly skeptical.

~~~
Steve0
They de-criminalized it, The Netherlands never 'really' legalized production.
The only legal pot growing is done for medicinal cannabis, which is a very
marginal market compared to the coffeeshops. The reason was amongst others,
that The Netherlands were bound by international treaties to fully legalize
and tax it.

Prop 19, legalizes the entire supply-chain, which makes it possible to build a
legal business on weed. The difference is, that the 'captains of industry'
will become part of the establishment, in a while traditional businessmen
might even take over. It could be that if California goes well, the same
players who were in, let's say, cigarette-companies will step up. They have
been thinking about this. Philip morris pantented the brand 'Marley' in
France: [http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-law-is-a-dope-
if...](http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-law-is-a-dope-if-they-
legalise-marijuana-when-they-legalise-marijuana-who-would-sell-what-to-whom-
jerome-burne-cases-the-joint-1405970.html)

~~~
electromagnetic
Tobacco sales would go through the roof over night if it started shipping with
MJ in it. I've never been able to get a good high off of a bong or pipe, but
mix it with tobacco and I'm set. The interesting thing is that tobacco has no
effect on me at all, I've smoked cigarettes and nothing, I often smoke a
cigarillo when I'm social drinking with friends who do smoke but my body
doesn't seem to get a response.

My parents both never smoked, my paternal grand parents didn't smoke (AFAIK)
and my maternal grandfather liked the occasional pipe (literally occasional, I
never even knew as a child). As far as investigation has gone in my family,
_no one_ smokes. Aunts, uncles, cousins, no one.

However virtually everyone in my wife's family smokes, my wife doesn't, but if
she does have a social smoke I know she struggles with not continuing. The few
members of her family who don't smoke have quit.

The bizarreness here is that my wife's family tried strongly to stop their
children smoking, but my parents didn't try at all. They found out I'd bought
a pack of cigarettes one time, but I didn't get them taken off me, I didn't
get a lecture, I got nothing. They simply assumed they weren't for me, and
they genuinely weren't, my friend asked me to pick them up for when we went
out drinking.

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roadnottaken
Are there any hackers out there that like to code stoned? My marijuana-days
never really overlapped with my coding days, but I can't imagine that would be
a very good combo. I'm all for legalization tho I no longer partake -- I'm
just wondering if it's a regular part of the lifestyle of many successful
hackers...

~~~
evo_9
It's funny but I'm hesitant to answer this truthfully.

I'm not sure if that's because I have aspirations to submit to YC at some
point and wonder how PG might view this (and whether it would affect any
decision making one way or another). Or if it's just the general concern with
unnecessarily putting myself 'out there' somewhat publicly.

So yes, I do smoke and code. I don't know if I would say I'm 'stoned' though;
I find that if I have just a wee bit I'm more focused and on point. It's
similar to when I play music; not for the 'creative release' often claimed
(though seldom experienced by me), but rather for this deep-focus aspect.

~~~
pg
We certainly don't care, as long as you make things people want.

~~~
farnsworth
I'm glad to see this comment. It's results and behavior that matter, not
chemicals in your urine. If only employers would realize this...

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dasil003
I already voted in favore of Prop 19 via postal ballot. The way that the
American public has been hoodwinked going on _a century_ about the real
reasons for marijuana prohibition is really a travesty. Even most of the
comments in this thread are focused on the personal freedom aspect; yet the
real story of cannabis prohibition is all economic.

Nowadays it's prison guard unions and law enforcement that lobby heavily
against legalization, but originally it was chemical and other industrial
companies that drove the prohibition effort simply because it undercut their
markets both on production (pesticides, fertilizers) and utility (synthetic
materials). Of course the drug companies lobby against legalization of medical
marijuana for parallel reasoning today (marijuana has fewer side effects than
most drugs), but I find it deliciously ironic that in this day and age when
environmental concerns are rising and hemp is a no-brainer solution for so
many obvious problems, that the very population that was demonized in a side-
channel PR effort to turn the public against "marijuana" (the Mexican term
being used in English propoganda for its sinister connotation), has now become
such a political force that they're actually going to get cannabis legalized
for drug use purposes first, without any need to dip into the wealth of
undeniable industrial uses of hemp; prohibited by proxy in a true crime
against humanity.

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random42
I hope this is not an "out of context query", but why/how does money affect
creation of laws in the US?

~~~
noarchy
There is a referendum on the California ballot where the voting population
will get to determine whether or not to legalize marijuana. The money that
gets donated can be used for advertising, which may be effective in this case.

~~~
dmix
Just like products, referendums don't market themselves.

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ojbyrne
Doesn't this seem kind of late? Election is next Tuesday.

~~~
100k
I was thinking the same thing. This would have made a lot bigger impact if
he'd donated the money 3 months ago. Now the most it can be used for is some
last-minute TV ads.

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metachris
Techcrunch should add attributions to their images!

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hugh3
Personally I hate marijuana and everybody who uses it. I openly refuse to have
anything to do with people who do.

We're born with few enough brain cells as it is, why would you want to kill
more of 'em?

If Prop 19 passes I'll be looking to leave California ASAP, because there's
nothing that makes me angrier than smelling pot smoke.

~~~
cryptoz
Do you follow the same policies about people who have a glass of wine with
dinner? That kills brain cells.

Do you hate everyone who drinks coffee? Caffeine is actually chemically
addictive and _can kill you_ if you overdose, whereas pot cannot kill you no
matter how much you have.

How about Barack Obama? He's admitted to smoking pot. Do you hate him because
of that fact? Or Carl Sagan, one of the 20th century's most loved scientists?
He was an avid pot smoker as well.

The best athlete in the world, Michael Phelps, also smokes pot. Do you hate
him?

Your opinions of hate are horrible. Please re-think how you feel about
marijuana and maybe read some science about the drug. It's much less damaging
than alcohol.

~~~
0-4
Drinking doesn't force others to consume the drink.

Smoking is something that you're forcing those around you to partake in with
you. It's antisocial.

~~~
cryptoz
Marijuana and smoke are not tied together. Many people bake brownies. Some
people smoke alone, so no others are affected. Vaporizers eliminate the smoke
altogether.

It's not antisocial. In fact, it's one of the most social activities humanity
has ever come across.

~~~
robryan
Police use the word antisocial here to when referring to it. I think they are
using it in a completely different context though to how we normally use to
word though.

More to do with out of line with how wider society expects people to behave or
something similar.

In terms of the way we mostly use the word, yes it is a very social thing in
bringing people together and having them interact.

~~~
techbio
Putting people in cages can border on anti-social.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder>

