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Legalized marijuana may have taken root in Colorado and Washington, but that doesn’t mean it has to spread to other parts of the country, as far as a bevy of special interests are concerned.
Some of the most lucrative and powerful industries in America oppose marijuana decriminalization because it threatens their financial bottom-line or jobs for their workers. Five different interest groups form the backbone of the anti-pot campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org, which tracks political spending.
From Vox
Twitter and Reddit user @MetricMaps has developed a GIF that shows the steady rise of America’s state and federal prison population from 1978 to 2012. The map shows that the South — and Nevada — were leaders in increasing incarceration, but that most of the rest of the country has followed.
Incarceration rates are mostly due to government policies, not to crime rates — that’s true at the national level, and it’s true for differences between states as well. And because most of the US prison population is housed in state prisons, state laws, in particular, are the biggest factor in the rise of mass incarceration — and differences between similar states can be explained by differences in their laws.
originally posted by: stirling
Why you ask....because its a de programming substance.....plain and simple...
originally posted by: skunkape23
You forgot to mention the threat industrial hemp poses to the paper pulp, textile, and synthetic plastics industries.
If it were legal to grow hemp it would kick a huge dent in their profits.
originally posted by: 0rkoJoker
Sometimes I don't know who to feel sorrier for - those who end up in prison for something as benign as marijuana, or the people who go through their lives with the mindset that putting them in prison is the right thing to do. So many members of our culture are just morally and spiritually confused. Just a sad state of affairs.
originally posted by: TKDRL
a reply to: kelbtalfenek
That would take substantial R+D, not to mention a lot of their machines will either have to be retooled, replace, or scrapped altogether. It would be a pricey and possibly risky process for them.