Federal agents raid marijuana dispensaries in Washington

[RainDog]

83. The break up of prohibition altered the power base within the Democrats

FDR won the presidency because he sided with the "wets" or anti-prohibitionists, against the "drys" or prohibitionists. The "wets" were concentrated in urban areas of the northeast. As a political faction within the Democratic Party, FDR's win was a blow to the south and midwest - the primary location of "drys."

So, I wonder if this current situation is the beginning of a power shift within the democratic party toward the west. California is a huge state whose population dwarfs entire regions of this nation - including the ENTIRE northeast region.

Democrats can appeal to economic conservatives via the marijuana issue - and did, in Colorado's last election. That legalization law passed with bipartisan votes from the public.

The cost savings from repealing marijuana prohibition - simply the costs of prohibition itself, not any associated, if any, tax captured from legalization, runs into the billions.

In addition, the office of the Drug Czar could be eliminated as part of the federal bureaucracy. The office's efforts have been a failure, but they pay a lot of salaries to maintain this failure. These are the sorts of economic issues that Democrats can use to appeal to conservatives.

Since most Americans have family members who have experienced cancer, and since most Americans approve of legal medical marijuana because of the twenty-year use of cannabis for cancer treatment (unofficially) in the U.S., this is another route to appeal to older Americans who have a self interest in affordable and effective health options - without fear of arrest and with availability that provides adequate information about conditions in which something was grown, etc.

The Attn Gen of Utah, for example, came out in support of medical marijuana after he had been dx'd with cancer. He claims he didn't use mj, but saw its value for his fellow patients who had used mmj as an adjunct to chemo and to avoid wasting - which is one of the main causes of death during cancer treatment.

So, even religious conservatives can understand this issue when it impacts them or their loved ones directly.

The greatest obstacle to sensible law concerning this issue is within the beltway.