pfroehlich2004
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On the article Dearborn Residents Respond to Proposed Marijuana Legalization
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On the article Marijuana Decriminalization Gets Broad Support in State Assembly
pfroehlich2004
11:24 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
ReplyNew York decriminalized small amounts of marijuana over three decades ago. The reason tens of thousands of young brown men get arrested for pot each year is that cops force them to empty their pockets, which brings any weed they have on them into "public view" transforming a violation to a misdemeanor, which is an arrestable offense.
As the NYPD seems happy to continue violating the spirit of New York's decrminalization law, it is incumbent upon the State Assembly to eliminate the "public view" loophole.
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On the article Patch Poll: Marijuana Legalization in Iowa – Must Everybody Get Stoned?
pfroehlich2004
2:41 am on Monday, December 10, 2012
People seem perfectly content so smoke inside their own homes now. I doubt a change in the legal status is going to inspire everyone to start doing it outdoors.
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On the article Coalition Files Lawsuit Related to Marijuana Ballot Initiative
pfroehlich2004
9:48 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
ReplyMAPA is a drowning man clutching at straws. I guarantee this initiative will pass with over 65% of the vote and that Mass will fully legalize marijuana by 2016.
In fifty years, Americans will look back on the prohibition era the way we now look back on the Salem witch trials -hate and superstition masquerading as concern for the public welfare.
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On the article 'Heavy' Marijuana Use up 80 Percent Among Teens
pfroehlich2004
1:03 am on Saturday, May 12, 2012
ReplyI am extremely dubious about the figures claimed in this study.
Monitoring the Future, which has been conducting annual surveys of drug use trends among US teens since 1975, is a far more respected data source than the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study referenced in this article, with a longer history as well as a sample size roughly four times greater than PATS.
According to MTF data, daily marijuana use among 12th-graders increased 22.2% between 2008 and 2011, while past-month use increased 16.5%.
Meanwhile, daily and past-month use of alcohol declined 25% and 7% respectively. These figures suggest that overall substance use by teens has been largely stable, with marijuana displacing alcohol as a drug of choice. Given marijuana’s superior safety profile, this means that the overall risk to teens' health has declined over this time period.
These figures can be found at the following URLs:
http://monitoringthefuture.org/data/11data/pr11t17.pdf
http://monitoringthefuture.org/data/11data/pr11t18.pdf -
On the article CT Takes Another Step Toward Legalizing Medical Marijuana
pfroehlich2004
2:55 am on Monday, April 23, 2012
ReplyCalifornia legalized medical marijuana in 1996. In that year, 172,000 Californians were admitted for substance abuse treatment. In 2010, the number was only 167,000 despite a 20% increase in the state's population.
Other states with medical marijuana laws have seen similar results. Alaska, Oregon, and Washington all passed medical marijuana initiatives in 1998. In the subsequent 12 years, the number of Alaskans in treatment dropped from 7,750 to 6,793 despite a 15% increase in population. Oregon saw a decrease from 48,408 to 48,042 together with a 15% increase in population. Washington experienced a significant decline, from nearly 54,000 in treatment to just over 38,000 after 12 years of medical marijuana, again despite an increase of over 15% in the state's population.
Some might accuse Sen. Boucher of being dishonest. I'll be generous and ascribe her erroneous statements to ignorance and a lack of interest in the facts.
My source data can be found at the following link (The characters "wa98" at the end of the URL indicate Washington, 1998. To see results for other states and years, simply change the characters).
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On the article Rising Marijuana Use Among Teens Spurs Community Call to Action
pfroehlich2004
2:09 am on Sunday, March 25, 2012
ReplyAnd what, pray tell, are the consequences of this increased marijuana use? Are kids dropping out of high school at a greater rate? Dying in accidents with greater frequency? Getting pregnant more often?
Or is this simply a hysterical reaction to the fact that teens are increasing choosing marijuana over far more toxic, yet culturally accepted alcohol?
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On the article Boucher: Medical Marijuana Teaches Wrong Lesson
pfroehlich2004
9:21 am on Friday, March 9, 2012
ReplyEveryone has done a great job of responding to Senator Boucher's obfuscations and baseless speculations.
I would just like to add that anyone from the 26th State Senate District who wants to see her out of office would do well to register as a Republican and organize a primary election challenge to Ms. Boucher. The 26th is a solidly Republican district and the likelihood of Toni losing a general election is slim to none. However, if some libertarian-minded candidate can snatch the Republican nomination from her, they will be a shoo-in for the general election.
State Rep. John Frey (111th) is a Republican from Boucher's district who has voted twice in favor of medical marijuana. Wonder if he'd be interested in challenging Toni for the nomination?
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On the article Marijuana Arrests Down After Decriminalization
pfroehlich2004
1:09 pm on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
ReplyThis is progress. Now it's time to go the rest of the way. If you want to end marijuana prohibition in Connecticut, please take a minute to visit www.ctprimaryproject.com!
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On the article Legalizing Marijuana: Is It Good for Massachusetts? [POLL]
pfroehlich2004
10:40 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
ReplyIt's absurd that we're even having this debate. California has had a quasi-legal marijuana trade for over fifteen years now without any of the prohibitionist-predicted doomsday scenarios coming to pass.
It won't be any different in Massachusetts. Quit wasting public resources on this idiotic crusade and let the police focus on real crimes.
pfroehlich2004
12:14 am on Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The proposed legislation does not alter current laws against impaired driving. Police will continue to enforce those laws the same way they do now, by administering field sobriety tests to any driver who gives probable cause.