ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — With other states moving to relax marijuana laws, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton remains resistant to allowing possession of the drug for medical or recreational use in his state.
The Democratic governor addressed the issue in a wide-ranging interview Friday with The Associated Press. Eighteen states allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and Colorado and Washington have decriminalized possession of small amounts for any purpose.
Proposals to allow medical marijuana in Minnesota have been stuck amid opposition from law enforcement. But advocates plan to push again in the 2013 session. Dayton says he won't budge unless law enforcement signs off on a deal that includes strict controls on how accessible the drug would be.
But, in Dayton's words, "I don't think we need another drug operating in our society."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Comments (31)
Add commentJust say no
You are right, Gov. Dayton.
No more drugs.
People are already uninformed.
Now how can we raise taxes on the rich?
"strict controls"
Yea, right! A year ago I was in Long Beach strolling down the waterfront. People were rollerblading by handing out coupons advertising medical marijuana at the local 'medical clinics.' They even had a doctor there who could diagnose you in just a couple minutes. I saved the coupon in case any of the leftys here are feeling ill.
Interesting how Washington approved marijuana use at the
same time they approved same-sex marriage! I think they were saying you have to be high to actually go along with this. Time to light up dudes!
So I suppose we should keep
So I suppose we should keep on the path of giving sick people substances that big Pharm can make a buck off of vs something that relieves pain and allows them to still eat. Keep on imprisoning more people then any other country in the world (all tax payer funded by the way) and spend millions doing it. And still have a high crime rate. Don't even get me started on hemp and its versatility. Pdnet you are a bigot!
I bet the pothead
crying about imprisonment voted for the commy-king Obama too.
Who could Forget...An American Classic...
PD...You've seen these folks, correct...
They kinda decide the Last Mile...
AKA...
Uniform Laws of Civil Conduct that ALL Americans Observe and Respect...
Civil Rights being one of them...
We all have opinions, another RIGHT in the United States...
However opinions aren't Law of the Land in the United States...
Minnesota took a GIANT step forward in voting down a limitation in the Minnesota State Constitution...
I believe June 2013, the other States are going to catch up with a Uniform Law of the Land Decision made by the Supremes...
_______
scribbs,
are you gay? Not nasty here, just askin..
Civil Rights of our Times...An Affirmation Of...
Scribbs is a believer of All Americans...
And Civil Rights...
Especially with the Separation of Church and State...
For my family (Married with Children...a long time now) we follow what Christ taught...
Christ did not teach, in my humble opinion, any one is less than the other...
Christ taught equality and that is the foundation of Civil Rights...
The United States of America is this model, and is an Ideal for the World to Follow, and why it's a destination of Freedom and Fairness for Many...
The best part about
The best part about legalizing marijuana is not having to listen to anyone else explain to me why we should legalize marijuana.
Dayton is opposed ?!?!?
Governor pill pusher is opposed to legalizing weed? Now that's a double standard !!
F&B I love it how you dismiss
F&B I love it how you dismiss the atrocities committed by the US government! The fact is our drug laws break up families, leave children fatherless, disproportionately effect people of color (meaning they are racist), cost our country billions of dollars, and to add insult to injury are ineffective. Drugs are more accessible and better! Obviously, there are a number of negative effects drugs bring to our country, but if what we are doing is not working, why do we continue to do it? As far as marijuana is concerned it is the least harmful of all drugs including the ones that are legal. That includes your bud light or whatever horrible beer you drink. So go ahead call me a lefty commy, I am going to turn around and call you an ill informed redneck who has his head in the sand and skirts around the real issues facing our nation. Hint it is not whether Obama's birth certificate if from Hawaii.
Issues? you want issues?
The real issues are the economy, too much government spending, the debt. Getting away from personal responsibility and thinking government will take care of me.
Thinkng if someone works their butt off to start a business and succeeds then they should pay more into social secuurty and federal taxes. The will to create and employ people has been stifled by this President . When being successful is a dirty thing, then we have a problem.
The Amercan dream is now compromised.
This is what people have voted for and why, I don't know, but, that won't stop people that want the spendng to stop.
Government worker unemployment is at 3.4%. There are people dropping out of looking for work. Government workers have better benefits and salary than the taxpayers payng for it. Jeeeez.
legalize
What about the people who are disabled for one reason or another. I myself am one of them. I am on several heavy narcotics that are prescribed by my Doctor, daily. Several times a day. However they relieve my pain some, the only true relief I get is to smoke marijuana occasionally. I do not do it on a daily basis or even weekly for that matter. But I will tell you even the Specialty Doctors I have are aware of this and encourage it if needed. They are more than aware of the amount of pain I am in, and unfourtantly MANY like me. So, why not legalize for medical reasons?! Regulate it however you must. Tax it, however you must. But my thoughts are: What is the difference of taking all the narcotics I have to take to relieve "some" pain and face the risks of side effects that come with those as oppesed to smoking marijuana and relieving "all" the pain in one fail swoop. Most of us that would use it for Medical purposes are no direct threat to society. I can't even drive. So what is the harm? I have a serious issue with weight loss due to the medication I am on. There is an up-side to this. I realize not all and maybe no one will agree with this,.. but I find that hard to believe. It is a natural made drug, unlike alcohol. Check statistics on drinking beer, wine, and or liquor ( and quite often a combination of the three) vs those who smoke marijuana. The accidents and acts of violence. They are much lower for marijuana users. All, I am saying is I think it should be legalized in Minnesota. Controlled yes, and even perhaps given only with a prescription. Many Doctors and Specialty Doctors would gladly do so for those in my situation and worse. Just food for thought.
Colorado drug law change has implications
beyond recreational use.
University of Colorado President sent a letter to alumni today stating one possible impact.
"The glaring practical problem is that we stand to lose significant federal funding. CU must comply with the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which compels us to ban illicit drugs from campus. Our campuses bring in more than $800 million in federal research funds, not to mention nearly an additional $100 million in funding for student financial aid. The loss of that funding would have substantial ripple effects on our students and our state. CU contributes $5.3 billion to Colorado's economy annually, a good portion of it derived from our research."
The medical marijuana experiment was not without its problems.
every legislation has problems
It seem everything has unintended consequences.
Sadie
You mentioned uncontrolled spending, yet seem perfectly okay with the multi-billion dollar prison complex where 70% are non-violent drug offenders! Which I suppose would be okay if the results were less crime and even less drug use (that was the point right), but it isn't we have more crime, more drug use, better drugs (by better I mean more potent). Not to mention a multi-billion pot industry that we are ignoring (too much government control if you ask me). Also, a multi-billion hemp industry which is only illegal because it is a relative of marijuana. You conservatives appear to be the party of fiscal responsibility only when it does not threaten the already established status quo (I am referring to the oil and timber industry which hemp would take a big chunk out of). Personally, I think my money could be better spent elsewhere. Pull your head out of the sand!
Mr. Doobie
I don't remember ever mentioning any prison system in my posts. Or, mentioning drugs including pot or hemp.
It would be nice if the people in prison at least were off the
drugs including but not limited to pot, then they could put
in a good day of work on the license plates.
The only opinion I have is that being on drugs, alcohol,
pot or any mood altering substance is an incredible waste
of time, money, and is a real brain drain.
As for the hemp and the oil and gas industry, you are more up on that than I. I think someone thinks that hemp can be
or maybe already is a substitute for gas in the cars. Other than that, you are more informed than I.
Hey dud, or dude or whatever,
what she's telling you is that no one cares if you sneak into the alley behind the bar and get stoned again. So have at it and quit whining.
F&B and Sadie what I am
F&B and Sadie what I am saying is that due to or draconian drug laws the US of A imprisons more people than any other country in the world for an addiction. A medical problem. We throw incredible amounts of money and human potential away not to mention break up families and the dire results of that. Sadie, in your post you mentioned the economy as an issue. Don't you think that we could save some of our tax money with doing away with our war on drugs (reminder that so far prohibition has proven to be grossly ineffective). I am sorry, but I think that there might be something slightly more productive than making licence plates for a good majority of these prisoners. I fail to see how the two are not related. Hemp is an extremely versatile and useful fiber. We could make paper, fuel, and all types of useful stuff with hemp. Since Canada started exporting hemp it has become their number 3 export (this information might be dated, it has been a while since I looked at Canada's exports), but the fact remains that hemp is useful. We don't produce it because it resembles marijuana. Hemp could be a huge addition to our economy. Not to mention it is a much more sustainable way to produce paper and fuel. Again I don't understand how you didn't grasp the correlation. You are correct that alcohol, pot, and other drugs are unproductive, but what is more unproductive is or prison industrial complex. What does that produce besides human misery. How did we come to this when the so called land of the free imprisons more people than any other place in the world, and supposedly informed (at least people who feel informed enough to comment on an online forum) see nothing wrong with that statement. F&B I will not stop whining as you put it until I start seeing some changes. My fear is that I might have to wait for dinosaurs like you and Sadie to pass away, or at least slide into a vegetative state before we can accomplish real change.
Dude
When you slide into a vegetative state, Obamacare should
cover it/or not.
Fair and myself are doing nothing to stop you from accomplishing your goals of dealing with drugs, pot and prisons.
These are subjects I rarely comment on and have never
called or written Congressman/Senators on these issues.
I do think when someone does drugs by selllng/using, they are the ones breaking up the family not the prison. The same
for alcohol, the one that breaks up the family is the user.
You don't become addicted untll you start doing drugs, up to then it is a choice to do them in the first place.
Well dude,
at least you have revealed your major in college.
I don't know what it's called, but it sure does involve the study of drugs and their consequences. I must admit that there were only two times in my life where I had to protect myself from doped up people with a firearm, so I guess that ain't all bad and obviously when the pot runs out none of you greeners would break into a house looking for anything, right?
You dopers need to prove you wouldn't be a danger to others before you can get your way.
Really
Sadie It's peoples choice to eat big macs and not exercise. I suppose when they get cancer you will tell them where to shove it. F&B I don't know where you live, but I jeeze. Personally, I have never ran into such problems, and I am willing to bet whoever you felt the need to defend yourself with fire arms was not using marijuana. Actually, it is quite interesting that someone as uptight, sorry I meant upright, has been in two of these situations, and a no good leftie such as myself has not.
Yes, really
Funny that you should mention cancer as I've had cancer and am now cancer free.
What I do shove is prayers for people that have cancer and heart attacks be it from Big Macs/no exercise.
I've also had a close family member commit suicide due to drugs and alcohol abuse. Another close member go through
alcohol treatment and not drank for 35 years.
I did my masters thesis on alcohol abuse and how it affects families. I have some experience of a different nature than you may be thinking of.
I'm leaning in your direction on this, Dude.
This is a long article on the failed "war on drugs", but worth the read (on a snowy Sunday afternoon, perhaps)? http://nymag.com/news/features/war-on-drugs-2012-12/
Have you heard about this, Dude:
"Breaking the Taboo – a new documentary about the war on drugs – premiered last night at Google's New York headquarters, with stars including Katie Couric, Virgin mogul Richard Branson, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Natalie Imbruglia in attendance. While the one-hour film is not available in theaters, it's streaming in its entirety online.
The web-only strategy is part of producer Sam Branson's plan to make the thoroughly researched anti-prohibition film a viral sensation, potentially inspiring serious drug policy reform. The filmmaker (who is Richard Branson's son) hopes to reach a wide audience for the all-star project – which includes never-before-seen interviews with former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, narration by Morgan Freeman and a trailer starring Kate Winslet. (Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/richard-bransons-son-challenge....
"Hasn't that ship already sailed?" would be my response to Gov.
Dayton's statement: "I don't think we need another drug operating in our society". We're in denial about the failure of
our policies/laws about illegal drugs. Meanwhile, we're losing ground re: illegal use of "legal"/prescription drugs.
Might as well
Well if you legalize it it will be harder for kids to get, because you will need an I.D. and it will be impossible to make real money off a drug that is no longer exclusive to the black market. When you take the money away from the dealers and give that power to people who run an open business and pay taxes we all win. Prohibition does not work, or we would have seen some positive results by now. Just legalize it already; and then, as Mav7770 pointed out, you wont have to listen to any of these rational arguments anymore.
But, But, But,,,,,
if you require an ID, won't you be discriminating against the people that can't afford an ID to vote? I assure you that that would open up a whole new can of worms! 2 months ago all the libs on here claimed that there were millions of those ID-less folks in Minnesota alone!
Or maybe they could buy
their dope by absentee-purchase and let another doper vouch for them?