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09-07-2015, 02:20 PM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
I first tried pot during my A-levels, at an indian friend's home located in the PUB quarters at Simpang Bedok. The others present and shared in passing the home-made bong around were his cousins and uncles. Apparently, it was an accepted practice in his family. It was an illegal activity (still is) and although his parents were ok with it, they never discussed it outside, in society, ganja is taboo. Later on, I went to the US and among the student population, many used it, while those who didn't, were not bothered by it. Then I moved to Canada, were, almost all my neighbours smoked the weed. Yes, there were some who did not take to pot, but it was generally accepted by society, despite its illegal status. Then medical marijuana started to get into the picture, and pot wasn't seen negatively.
Today, marijuana is legalized in some states in the US, and is becoming mainstream, no longer a "deviant" activity. So, for this herb that originated in Asia, what is keeping it so taboo? We don't hear radio DJs commenting or joking about pot, we don't hear politicians downing the harsh punishment laws, we don't notice citizen groups requesting for less harsh laws. The current status of pot in the US is due to a public-driven movement to recognize it. Isn't there any public motivation in Asia? Are Asian countries run top-down? Only waiting for orders from leadership or authority?
Cheers!
http://www.ibtimes.com/marijuana-leg...idates-1999634 (http://www.ibtimes.com/marijuana-legalization-no-longer-political-suicide-presidential-candidates-1999634)
Marijuana Legalization No Longer ‘Political Suicide’ For Presidential Candidates
By Philip Ross @ThisIsPRo [email protected] on July 08 2015 1:54 PM EDT
Cheech and Chong might have shots at public office after all, as America’s image of marijuana continues to evolve from stoners nodding off into a credible industry – one suddenly possessing an army of allies on both sides of the aisle and the kind of money to influence elections. In many ways, marijuana is no longer confined to the peripheries of the U.S. political landscape, something only the Ron Pauls of the world could openly discuss. The number of mainstream politicians becoming supporters – or, at least, not opponents – of the marijuana industry is ever-growing. They might not be lighting up joints, but high-profile lawmakers simply aren’t as pot-shy as they used to be, and the 2016 presidential candidate pool is no exception.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is among the Republicans vying for their party’s nomination -- and one of the most conservative -- who say they support states' rights to legalize marijuana. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry have also stated that states should decide their own marijuana laws.
“If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that’s their prerogative,” Cruz said at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in February. “I personally don’t agree with it, but that’s their right.”
When asked in May whether marijuana should be legal in the U.S., Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton commented that “states are the laboratories of democracy.” She previously said “there should be availability under appropriate circumstances.” Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a socialist independent who is challenging Clinton as a Democrat, has long supported marijuana reform and recently alluded to his support for nationwide legalization.
“When I was growing up, it was political suicide for a candidate to talk about pot being legal,” Tim Cullen, who owns a chain of medical and recreational pot dispensaries in Colorado, told the Associated Press. Cullen said he recently heard Clinton speak at a fundraising event in New Mexico, and “she’s not outwardly hostile to the idea [of legalization,] which is a big step forward.”
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?210205-Marijuana-and-Asian-values&goto=newpost).
I first tried pot during my A-levels, at an indian friend's home located in the PUB quarters at Simpang Bedok. The others present and shared in passing the home-made bong around were his cousins and uncles. Apparently, it was an accepted practice in his family. It was an illegal activity (still is) and although his parents were ok with it, they never discussed it outside, in society, ganja is taboo. Later on, I went to the US and among the student population, many used it, while those who didn't, were not bothered by it. Then I moved to Canada, were, almost all my neighbours smoked the weed. Yes, there were some who did not take to pot, but it was generally accepted by society, despite its illegal status. Then medical marijuana started to get into the picture, and pot wasn't seen negatively.
Today, marijuana is legalized in some states in the US, and is becoming mainstream, no longer a "deviant" activity. So, for this herb that originated in Asia, what is keeping it so taboo? We don't hear radio DJs commenting or joking about pot, we don't hear politicians downing the harsh punishment laws, we don't notice citizen groups requesting for less harsh laws. The current status of pot in the US is due to a public-driven movement to recognize it. Isn't there any public motivation in Asia? Are Asian countries run top-down? Only waiting for orders from leadership or authority?
Cheers!
http://www.ibtimes.com/marijuana-leg...idates-1999634 (http://www.ibtimes.com/marijuana-legalization-no-longer-political-suicide-presidential-candidates-1999634)
Marijuana Legalization No Longer ‘Political Suicide’ For Presidential Candidates
By Philip Ross @ThisIsPRo [email protected] on July 08 2015 1:54 PM EDT
Cheech and Chong might have shots at public office after all, as America’s image of marijuana continues to evolve from stoners nodding off into a credible industry – one suddenly possessing an army of allies on both sides of the aisle and the kind of money to influence elections. In many ways, marijuana is no longer confined to the peripheries of the U.S. political landscape, something only the Ron Pauls of the world could openly discuss. The number of mainstream politicians becoming supporters – or, at least, not opponents – of the marijuana industry is ever-growing. They might not be lighting up joints, but high-profile lawmakers simply aren’t as pot-shy as they used to be, and the 2016 presidential candidate pool is no exception.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is among the Republicans vying for their party’s nomination -- and one of the most conservative -- who say they support states' rights to legalize marijuana. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry have also stated that states should decide their own marijuana laws.
“If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that’s their prerogative,” Cruz said at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in February. “I personally don’t agree with it, but that’s their right.”
When asked in May whether marijuana should be legal in the U.S., Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton commented that “states are the laboratories of democracy.” She previously said “there should be availability under appropriate circumstances.” Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a socialist independent who is challenging Clinton as a Democrat, has long supported marijuana reform and recently alluded to his support for nationwide legalization.
“When I was growing up, it was political suicide for a candidate to talk about pot being legal,” Tim Cullen, who owns a chain of medical and recreational pot dispensaries in Colorado, told the Associated Press. Cullen said he recently heard Clinton speak at a fundraising event in New Mexico, and “she’s not outwardly hostile to the idea [of legalization,] which is a big step forward.”
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?210205-Marijuana-and-Asian-values&goto=newpost).