Drug-Abstainer Penn Jillette Argues for Legalization of Marijuana

"I don't know one person, outside of me, that has not smoked marijuana."

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March 14, 2009 at 10:11 pm - Crackle
Dateline: Las Vegas, NV

[...] in M, Politics checkDigg(”http://www.butasforme.com/2009/03/14/drug-abstainer-penn-jillette-argues-for-legalization-of-marijuana/”, “48311″, “http://www.butasforme.com”); Quick Take: Drug-Abstainer Penn Jillette Argues for Legalization of Marijuana → Read full article… [...]

WHO CARES?   March 14th, 2009 - 10:30 pm

Why does BB so often put “news” about Penn Jillette on this site? The guy is NOT newsworthy. Kind of creepy, actually…

[...] the original post here:  Drug-Abstainer Penn Jillette Argues for Legalization of Marijuana Filed Under: Latest News VideoTagged: pcu [...]

msbdysnatcher   March 14th, 2009 - 10:45 pm

I agree with Penn! What gets me is after prohibition you would think someone in the government would have learned something. With the national debt so “HIGH” legalizing drugs and taxing the hell out of them would seem like a good idea. Back in the 60s the collage aged kids said if I was in charge I would make drugs legal and (teach the world to sing). Now those same people are the ones in charge and drugs are not legal and the world isn’t sing! What are you all waiting for? Make it happen the country needs the money!

Scott Ragland   March 14th, 2009 - 10:51 pm

Jillette’s been doing his ‘I’m above all this’ schtick in a number of ways and in a number of fora over his entire career, right?
Aren’t he and his stage partner Teller famous for the intellectual meta-comedic layers and levels of meaning in all their ‘work’?
Misdirections within misdirections, no?
It appears this vid is of a guy getting away with comedic mass murder.
Pretty good magic shows, though…

look at the details   March 14th, 2009 - 11:41 pm

Comic mass murder? Gees and that’s not over the top at all… LOL.

Jillette does have a point though, tobacco is legal, processed with chemicals that are cancer causing, government regulates and makes money on that, same for booze, why not pot?
Just seems like a huge waste of time to chase it down and jail pot smokers, legalize it and make money on it and the dealers at the top, who pay no taxes and likely use that money to fund further illegal activity are no longer needed.

N Waff   March 14th, 2009 - 11:45 pm

Hmm, according to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, less than 9% of the population has tried drugs in the past year, but Penn Jilette can’t find a single person who hasn’t tried any.

The center also reports that substance abuse is the major contributor to crime, violent crime, crimes against women, crimes against children and fatal injury. Now, why do we want to make illegal drugs more readily available?

Penn, you sound naive.

No 2 Drugs   March 15th, 2009 - 12:01 am

Penn,
If you don’t know a single person who hasn’t tried pot, that’s more a reflection on the type of people you associate with than the number of people doing drugs.

Stymie   March 15th, 2009 - 12:25 am

Get a haircut or bite a bat…you look like Ozzie O.

Far Right Wing Wacko   March 15th, 2009 - 12:54 am

Alcohol, the worlds MOST dangerous and abused drug, PERIOD! Legalize marijuana now! Sow Bush can finally admit smoking, AND inhaling in his youth like everyone else in Government has. Including 70% of our military!(speaking from experience) How stupid our laws are!

James K   March 15th, 2009 - 2:55 am

People should have the right to put anything they want in their body???

Ever heard of PCP?

Look, I agree, I don’t care what you put in your body, except that if what you put in your body has a high tendancy to cause you to react in ways that harm others, then it’s not your right, because it’s infringing on others rights.

Enough said. Fight on.

FP   March 15th, 2009 - 3:48 am

History repeats itself because most people don’t bother to study it and learn from past mistakes. Prohibition between 1920-1933 caused a host of social problems; most notably the rise of gangs who made loads of cash through illegal sales, theft and murder. This, often violent, black market for alcohol flourished. Stronger liquor surged in popularity because its potency made it more profitable to smuggle. The cost of enforcing prohibition was high, and the lack of tax revenues on alcohol (some $500 million annually nationwide back then) severely affected government coffers. When repeal of prohibition occurred in 1933, organized crime lost nearly all of its black market alcohol profits because of competition with low-priced, legal, liquor stores. Before the “War on Drugs” weed was not nearly as popular, potent or profitable as it is today. People against legalization use the same excuses that were used in the past, excuses that were proven wrong. Prohibition has caused these same problems to arise in our society, ending it would cause the same solutions as already proven.

FP   March 15th, 2009 - 4:00 am

Re:N Waff; James K
This is about decriminalizing pot not dangerous drugs like PCP, crack, heroin, Luvox, etc. Pot, by itself, is not a cause of violent crime like those others. The only crimes reported beyond having it are those caused by mixing it with something else, most notably alcohol, or driving under the influence done by drinkers of alcohol daily.

FP   March 15th, 2009 - 4:22 am

addendum – I know Luvox is legal but it is still a dangerous drug. SSRI’s like that one can cause, in some people, violent, suicidal behavior like what happened at Columbine High.

Enzo   March 15th, 2009 - 1:52 pm

Penn, you need to get out of L.A., Las Vegas, or wherever you now live, man. Of course you won’t find anyone who hasn’t smoked dope there. We ought to meet sometime. I have never smoked dope, or did any illegal drugs either… and I’ve been NOT doing them a whole lot longer than you.

I’ll be 62 this year; attended Kent State and was there during the riots and Ohio National Guard shootings on May 1-4, 1970. I was around drugs growing up in Cleveland, and never once tried them. I knew many who screwed up their lives using drugs, and I always knew I was better than that. So, like you I abstained.

There probably are a very few of us non-user’s out there. Though I doubt we are alone on this… we are just rare and unique to our generations.

I do not believe drugs should be legal. (I don’t even think tobacco should be legal as a commercial commodity). I believe penalties should be small and inconsequential for drug users, and addicts must be controlled… and not allowed to live on the streets. Harsh… VERY harsh penalties should be enforced against suppliers and pushers of illegal drugs to control the proliferation of the drug culture. Why? Because we are better than that.

Chris   March 15th, 2009 - 2:13 pm

Do you really think by legalizing marijuana you are going to make all the drug dealers go away? NO. You’re just going to give them more competition. It’s capitalism, it’s not going to make the problems go away.

Kenny C   March 21st, 2009 - 5:29 pm

Find some new friends….get away from those dopers…my brother in law went down that dopers road…ruined his marriage, his life. Started messing around with 13 year old girls….died at 40…may have been shot for all I know…..while we”re at it lets ban booze and tobacco….they cause a strain on our health care costs….oh yeah I almost forgot….lets ban the wheel….that thing killed more people than all the wars…..and don’t forget gravity….that killed more than the wheel and look what it does to women’s breasts

furd   July 16th, 2009 - 9:54 am

I was a user of marajuana
at 23 I just quit and have not
done it sence. I don’t know why I quit
It was fun but like ciggerets caugh caugh caugh
congestion and smell that is what did it.
I should have baked it in cookies or something
I supose it was for the better, I’ll be getting
out of prison sometime in the next 20 years

Tom   July 17th, 2009 - 12:43 pm

It`s said to think that our State or Federal legislators are so devoid of ideas to solve the fiscal problems they have created, that the legalization of a drug or drugs is the only way out of the mess. It`s time to throw all of them out of office and put individuals with some common sense in their place.

Rebby   July 17th, 2009 - 4:31 pm

Chris, it’s the *absence* of competition that leads to higher prices. Combined that with heavy penalties for possession and the whole business attract criminals like stink on you know what. The last thing the pushers want to see is full-scale decriminalization and a free market for drugs…it’s the government that’s keeping them in business by excluding their non-violent competitors.

I’d be in favor of all drugs being decriminalized (yes, even PHP) with a major initiative to educate citizens on the hazards of drug use.

Spirit Lytle   August 21st, 2009 - 11:10 pm

I’ve got two tickits to Tokyo and my bags are packed :~)

joey   August 22nd, 2009 - 3:23 am

I see all this chatter but the fundamental issue is freedom.No one has the right to tell me what I ingest.everything in the us is based on threats and intimidation by the nazi cops and pols. *s long as I don’t smoke while driving, leave me the f alone. – am not your slave. Freedom, remember? That’s what we’ve lost and here you all talk about is taxation. The true criminals are those who want to keep you enslaved. This is not why we fought the first revolution.

mary   August 27th, 2009 - 11:35 pm

It is the war on drugs that has caused so much violence and suffering in our communities. Mostly, in communities of color. The war on drugs is a falure and continues to hurt people and incarcerate the poor…mostley women.
Check out Mike grays docu “The Clergy Speakout Against the War on Drugs.

If a 13 year and a 50 year old are walking in a park, guess who is going to be approached by a dealer???
STOP THE WAR ON DRUGS…IT’S A WAR ON THE POOR~

MARY   August 27th, 2009 - 11:37 pm

CHECK MIKE GRAY’S DOCU….THE CLERGY SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE WAR ON DRUGS~~~
WAKE UP PEOPLE THIS IS A WAR ON THE POOR

RFWoodstock   September 21st, 2009 - 3:19 pm

Valid medicinal value, it’s a victimless crime, the War on Drugs WAY too costly, too many arrests for simple possession, tax it and use the money to pay for health insurance and to reduce the deficit…Woodstock Universe supports legalization of Marijuana for a variety of reasons.

Check them out and vote in our poll about legalization at http://www.woodstockuniverse.com.

WOODSTOCK LIVES ONLINE!!!! Join us. We’re a small group of folks based at Utopia Studios in Woodstock who are keeping the spirit of Woodstock alive.

Listen to RADIO WOODSTOCK 69 which features only music from the original Woodstock era (1967-1971) and RADIO WOODSTOCK with music from the original Woodstock era to today’s artists who reflect the spirit of Woodstock. Watch Woodstock TV.

Go to http://www.woodstockuniverse.com for details and to join our Woodstock Universe online community.

Peace, love, music,
RFWoodstock
rfwoodstock@gmail.com

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