Guess who opposes legalizing pot -- the beer industry!
In the long campaign waged to legalize marijuana, there’s been no short supply of detractors.
After all, in spite of its relative harmlessness compared to other illicit narcotics, it may never shed its reputation as a gateway drug – the joint that leads to a line that leads to a needle sticking from your arm.
And while it may not be too difficult to make a case against legalizing pot, either, rarely has the business sector involved itself with the issue. But as California inches closer to flipping its laws against marijuana, it isn’t mother’s groups or cops shouting loudest. It may be the beer industry.
Yes, the California Beer & Beverage Distributors has waged war against the state’s proposition to legalize pot – a ballot that will face law makers next month – by apparently crying foul on what the initiative might do to booze sales.
According to the Huffington Post, the CBBD has donated $10,000 to a local committee organized to oppose the marijuana proposition, suggesting “the alcohol industry has long seen illicit drugs as a threat to sales, as consumers may substitute pot for booze.”
“A night spent on the couch smoking marijuana and watching television,” HuffPo goes on to say, “is a night not spent at the bar.”
Now, a rep for the CBBD has since tried to remove itself from the political implications of its donation, instead saying the group opposes the initiative because it is “poorly written,” not so much the intent of the proposition itself.
But look past the PR spin and it’s not hard to see what’s going on here. Industry X, thanks to laws some feel are archaic in nature, enjoys a nice, competition-free market because Product Y is illegal. If Product Y suddenly becomes free from the law’s prohibition, this will no doubt be a detriment to the bottom line of Industry X.
Okay, so that was a cryptic clarification at best. Though you can see where I’m coming from.
Do you think the CBBD has a point here? If marijuana is legalized – in California or anywhere else in North America – do you think beer and liquor sales might suffer as a result?
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: jim | Oct 5, 2021 12:48:29 AM
I highly doubt beer and liquor sales will suffer anything significant. People already smoke pot or don't, and people already like it or don't. It's nothing brand new. And the experience of consuming both are totally different. When people want to party, they get drunk. When people want to more chill, they get high. A lot of people already do both. I know when I'm getting into a social situation I prefer to have a couple of drinks. Nothing is going to change that. Especially because access to marijuana is easily available.
Posted by: BARRY | Oct 5, 2021 2:09:26 AM
NO SMOKING WEED MAKES YOU WANT TO DRINK MORE. IE-DRY MOUTH
Posted by: Ted C | Oct 5, 2021 4:01:22 AM
And the problem with society drinking less beer and alcohol is......? They are just "legal" pushers in the booze industry - no more, no less. Yes it may have a minor affect on booze sales, but so will 10 grand have but a minor affect on the outcome of this vote. And the fact that they do have a point about sales dropping for booze means what? Cmon - better question plz....
Posted by: jeff | Oct 5, 2021 5:48:48 AM
Alcohol is THE GATEWAY DRUG...while pot being illegal, is the gateway to the blackmarket.
Posted by: Gordo | Oct 5, 2021 6:51:39 AM
Pot smokers will generate alot of tax revenue if it becomes a legal product. The retail end of the business will create alot of jobs. The blackmarket sales will become needless and alot less crime will be involved. People can then legally grow their own. I think there are alot more pros than cons. Everyone should comment on this topic so all the facts can be put in the table.
Posted by: Shaun | Oct 5, 2021 8:24:23 AM
Now this is funny, The beer industry will donate $10,000 to keep Mary Jane illegal but NEVER have they offered a red cent to the DON"T DRINK AND DRIVE CAMPAIGNS. I wonder Why? Maybe this should be the next Question? When will the Beer/Liquor Industry do something about the High levels of Drunk Drivers? Statistics don't lie, In the USA 3 in 10 people have been involved in accidents because of Drunk Driving atleast Once in their Lifetime, In 2006 1.46 million people in the USA were arrested for Drunk Driving (That means that behind every 139 licensed drivers in USA, one was arrested)
The drunk driving fatalities in the year 2009, till the 27th November were 11,769. The numbers for 2007 and 2008 were 12,998 and 11,773 respectively. It shows that the problem of drunk driving is far from over. DO WE EVER HEAR STATISTICS LIKE THIS ABOUT MARIJUANA? Yes we do, only in the form of " Possession charges, Cultivation charges, Trafficking etc etc". Never has marijuana been related to a Drug Driving Accident/ loss of life because of said accident. NEVER has there been a death related to the consumption of Marijuana. Can we say the same about Alcohol?
Come on People the facts are there. Lets get behind this movement and FORCE our Government to Finally do the right thing and Legalize Marijuana. The taxes generated off this will help stabilize the World Economy and will put much needed money for crime elsewhere instead of putting it to Fighting Marijuana Smokers.
Posted by: NecktopPC | Oct 5, 2021 1:39:59 PM
Cured: A Cannabis Story (A film by David Triplett)
The world needs this now! A story of how cannabis extract oil cured David Triplett's cancer after he watched RUN FROM THE CURE: The Rick Simpson Story.
The Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckDiXMXYlyQ
Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids - 1974 study from the Medical College of Virginia:
http://www.ukcia.org/research/AntineoplasticActivityOfCannabinoids/index.php
Cannabinoids: Potential Anti-Cancer Agents (2000)
http://americanmarijuana.org/Guzman-Cancer.pdf
Healing Hemp Oil - Phoenix Tears
Link: http://www.phoenixtears.ca
Posted by: NecktopPC | Oct 5, 2021 2:15:08 PM
A Marijuana History Lesson
The Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlGQPuGA-8M
The Truth about Marijuana the Government doesn't want you to know
The Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSkCM2IORHE&feature=related
The Truth About Marijuana
The Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzAq01BE5QM&feature=related
Posted by: Albertan | Oct 5, 2021 2:40:27 PM
Ummm Shaun...
"Never has marijuana been related to a Drug Driving Accident/ loss of life because of said accident. "
Including blanket statements that obvously can't be true pretty much discredits your whole argument. Try not using pot while writing your defense of legalized pot.
My thoughts:
My logic goes like this. The individuals that are pot users want it legalized so that they will have easier access to the drug (this is certain to happen if it is legalized). Easier access will inevitably increase the general use by society of marijuana (both more people using and current users using more often). I doubt anybody would argue with the above logic.
My conclusion:
I personally find it difficult to say that society would be better off with more people smoking marijuana. The potential for tax and jobs would very likely be offset by the societal costs of lost productivity, health issues and a very likely increase in poverty among certain classes. I realize by this same logic gambling, alcohol and smoking should also be banned and maybe in the future that is also a possiblity as each of those items does far more damage each year than they can possibly give back.
I realize Society is not meant to protect an individual from themselves however in the modern age the lines between just effecting an individual versus effecting a group / society on the whole has blurred. Society every year loses individuals to gambling, smoking and alcohol that would otherwise have been productive individuals. I can't condone losing more to legalized pot as eventually, with enough vices introduced, society will simply crumble. I don't marijuana will be the straw that breaks the camel but it certainly would be another crack in the foundation of society.
Posted by: NecktopPC | Oct 5, 2021 2:53:21 PM
Analysis of Relative Risks and Levels of Risk in Canada.
Scroll down to Table 3. and take note of the first eight or so causes of death.
http://www.enerex.ca/articles/risk.htm
Posted by: NecktopPC | Oct 5, 2021 3:34:56 PM
American Journal of Medicine. 1998 July 27; 105(1B): 31S-38S.
Conservative calculations estimate, that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs "NSAID" (painkillers like IBUPROFEN and ASPIRIN), related gastrointestinal (GI) complications. And, at least 16,500 NSAID related deaths, occur each year, among arthritis patients alone.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9715832
Do these 16,500 deaths from LEGAL DRUGS matter, or is the hysteria from Cannabis the only thing that counts?
Posted by: don | Oct 5, 2021 4:14:16 PM
Pot is not going away. It is a vice just like alcohol, smkoing or gambling. It is tough to say to one group my vice is OK but yours wont be allowed. As it is now the only thing happening is criminals are making millions. Why not take those millions and put them in government coffers? There will always be something people turn to escape. Is it not better for us to control it as opposed the drug lords and gangs? It is a lesser of evils and no matter what the evils will exist.
Posted by: Albertan | Oct 5, 2021 5:01:58 PM
To NecktopPC
So your argument is because other things are currently more likely to kill you we should legalize pot? And what is the reasoning for the stats on people overmedicating on asprin? If anything it shows how society can abuse even the most basic and safe of legal drugs to cause themselves harm. That is really another good reason not to allow pot because if the general population can damage themselves with aspirin just image the damage something like pot would do.
Also, how about you actually respond to my post above? Wouldn't legalized pot increase pot use? If so would that be better or worse for society considering all the potential effects?
To Don:
Unfortunately not everybody can have their vice's be legal and the line has to be drawn somewhere. Some people would love to run around in the buff downtown but we don't allow that. We disallowed alcohol for a time but society determined that its effects were acceptable. We had pot legal for a period of time but society determined that its effects were not acceptable so it was repealed. I would personally recommend skipping the vices all together but it certainly doesn't seem bright to get itno one that was illegal.
Posted by: don | Oct 5, 2021 6:33:14 PM
I do agree with you Albertan. But I ask the question why not ban it all right now?
Posted by: LMFAO ! | Oct 6, 2021 9:50:35 AM
when's the last time you heard of anyone being violent when HIGH !!
ie) smoking a couple joints and beating up their spouse or getting in a car and destroying lives !!
ALCOHOL is a legal KILLER !!!!
maybe we should bring back prohibition...and legalize weed...besides it has more medicinal vaule than the government or pharmaceutical companies want us to know !!
stop the ignorance ! the whole world should spark up a GIANT dube ! and CHILL !
stoned in Toronto ;)
Posted by: BG O'Hara | Oct 8, 2021 11:33:01 AM
1. North America is NOT winning the war on drugs. Legalizing marijuana will lesson the burden on drug enforcement officials.
2. Tax the shit out of it like alcohol & cigarettes. It's the competition thing the beer industry is interedt in. In Canada a % of tax income goes to addiction services. Oh sure we could do the prohibition thing, but we know that only drove it more underground. People are going to do these things... and some are not. It's called freedom of choice. Hellooo this is what we fought for.
3. Growers must be licenced like tobacco growers. Did you know that a tobacco grower in Canada cannot sell his crop on the road side like fruit growers can? Here's where you place the big fines. No farmer will want that so he'll be more inclined to work within the law - esp. if he's got a gauranteed sale of his crop.
4. Only licensed operators - like gov't liquor stores & retaliers can sell it. Estabish laws on how much they sell.
5. Same DUI laws apply with smoke as they do with liqour.
....oh but all this is too logical for any government. Sorry.
Posted by: Laura | Oct 10, 2021 8:31:21 AM
Marijuana is a plant. Alcohol and medication are man made. What gives the government the right to ban something which grows naturally? If dandelions made you high, they'd have a hell of time trying to keep it under control!
Legalize it! And then tax the crap out of it and use the money for good!
Posted by: 400watt farmer | Dec 2, 2021 11:05:58 PM
Liquire industry apposed to legalization of marijuanna?
First thing i want to say is alcohol killed my father.
Marijuanna may kill you if you choke to death on it, get high blood pressure and passout or you have asthma. These things are possible but due to the fact most people dont smoke more than they feel they need these things rarely happen. Marijuanna smokers for the most part paranoid drivers and they know they are paranoid so more times than not they dont smoke and drive.
Youll find brave marijuanna smokers driving but unlikely not highly unlikely will they get into an accident. People who smoke marijuanna and drive are as irresponsible as those who drink and drive.
ALCOHOL is classified as a drug and MARIJAUANNA falls under the same class.
Marijuanna can be used medicinally and Alcohol has also been used medicinally in the days of the WILD WEST as a pain killer. Marijuanna is a safer and healthier pain killer.
There are people from all walks of life who smoke marijuanna as thier are people from all walks of life who drink.
Basically something like marijuanna or alcohol rightfully is up to the individual to consume and always will be.
Governments are now crying poverty and even though there is a natural excepted substance like marijuanna available to them to tax.
Now, if i want to make alcohol at home i can, it is very simple. Growing marijuanna is pretty simple also but more expensive because you need hydro, only certain sized lights are available to grow it but yet still lighting options. Hydro will always be used. The government will make money from marijuanna just on peoples higher electrical bills alone. There is a degree of danger for growers such as poor electrical or dangerous settups. I beleave the biggest excuse the government has for not legalizing marijuanna is there are people who will grow marijuanna with safety not being a major coincern of the individual grower. I beleave that if people are allowed to grow marijuanna at home there will be an increase of fires at home because we all know there is alot of people who do things dangerously and stupidly. I have to respect the government for not allowing people to grow marijuanna at home. CHILDREN are alot safer because of it.
There is no reason the government cant expertly master marijuanna growing and become strain aware. We all know some marijuanna is better than others ans some people prefer lighter marijuanna while others want smelly, skunky marijuanna. They could grow many different strains of marijuanna and legally employ gardeners and have extra gardeners available as they do when they have extra staff standing around at the beer store or liquire store.
I dont understand why the government dosnt assume responsability for growing marijuanna.
The grow operations could be local and indoor operations so thier is an aspect of substance control.
As it is right now people are growing thier own weed and in some cases not very safely or efficiently. I cant tell you how to be more efficient. I can tell you however that compact flouresent bulbs do work. There is your energy savings but your marijuanna quality and quantity will suffer.
I would like to see improved lifestyles for everyone and i beleave this can be accomplished by making marijuanna legal but at the same time a controlled substance. Its not legal to grow hemp or tobbacco at home and i dont see the difficulty in enforcing these rules as thier are people who will and will not follow the rules anyway but if high quality marijuanna is achieved through government growing less criminal funds will be available to criminals this easilly.
It just dont make any sense that drunkiness is tollerated more than people smoking a virtually harmless substance that is natural. The only thing unatural about marijuanna is that it is dried out ready to smoke.
I beleave STEVEN HARPER would if given the chance legallize marijuanna but i could be wronge.
GO STEVEN! GO STEVEN! GO STEVEN! GO!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I love the guy.