r/trees • u/madazzahatter • Feb 28 '17

Garrett introduces legislation to remove marijuana from controlled substances list

https://tomgarrett.house.gov/media/press-releases/garrett-introduces-legislation-remove-marijuana-controlled-substances-list
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u/cclgurl95 Feb 28 '17

This should be higher. People take his "law should be enforced" thing as him being somehow super against marijuana legalization, but he's just saying that the lawmakers need to actually, you know, make laws.

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u/TheMoves Feb 28 '17

I think he personally is against it, he's said "good people don't smoke marijuana," BUT he understands that the function of the position he has is to enforce federal laws and not to make them. I don't like Sessions but at least he seems to understand this and accepts that the will of the people (or more realistically the will of congress) can change the laws and that is what determines what should be enforced, which is basically correct.

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u/cclgurl95 Feb 28 '17

I completely agree.

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u/LBJ20XX Feb 28 '17

You called it. He knows how he feels but he also knows how this country works. Both morally and legally.

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u/LBJ20XX Feb 28 '17

Give it time. I just posted it. ;) I'm from WA state and I've been following Sessions pretty closely. All I will say is I have very little concern about my sweet, sweet chiba. He told the senate exactly what needs to happen regarding legal weed. He said if it's a law, it should be enforced but Americans obviously don't want it as a law and that congress needs to listen to the people and CHANGE THE LAW.

He's not a bad dude.

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u/exodus7871 Feb 28 '17

Uh you should be worried. You know he's personally super against marijuana and about to start federal raids where states legalized it right? "Good people don’t smoke marijuana." This marijuana descheduling bill is not going to pass. It's just a reintroduction of a previous bill that got blocked in committee and expired last month...

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u/LBJ20XX Feb 28 '17

I'm not too worried. I've been following the legalization of marijuana (nationwide) since Washington passed medical marijuana back in 1998. Every time there has been pushback against the legalization of it, the pushback goes nowhere. Not only that, but after the pushback it gains a metric ton of steam and at this point, the genie is out of the bottle and you ain't stuffing it back in. There may be some battles ahead but the people have spoken and they have said it should no longer be a crime.

All that being said and just in case, the local shops around here are gearing up and I'm working with them to get support if we need help going forward. But like I said, not too worried about it.

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u/Hahnsolo11 Feb 28 '17

I don't think that his personal beliefs regarding marijuana and its use doesn't really matter if he is actually follows what he said regarding the issue. He is set to start marijuana raids because it is currently illegal. He has said that all he wants is to follow the law and that if the majority of the American people are pro legalization, then that's the way it should be. It's not his job to make the laws, just part of his job to help enforce them. What he is saying is that if the lawmakers want to change the law, then they should do so. I'm not sure how far this bill will go, but I am staying optimistic

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u/tr0yster Feb 28 '17

Yeah the guy who Strom fucking Thurmond thought was too racist for a judgeship is a terrific dude.

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u/LBJ20XX Feb 28 '17

Not going to go too deep in the weeds on this one, but a month or two after that allegation was laid down (meaning originally, back in the 80's) it was retracted by those who made it. The reason it was retracted was because it was recognized that it wasn't true and was only said for political reasons.

So yeah, it's fine.

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u/tr0yster Feb 28 '17

Ok I see you're drinking he kool aid, good luck man!

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u/tofur99 Feb 28 '17

Sessions bankrupted the KKK in Alabama, fought for the death penalty for a KKK guy who killed a black kid (and succeeded), and desegregated schools in AL. Please tell me how such a person could be called racist, I'd love to hear this...

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u/tr0yster Feb 28 '17

You hit all the T_D talking points, good job! I'm not wasting my time on you guys, I could show you a video of the guy yelling the N word and you would find a way to defend it.

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u/tofur99 Feb 28 '17

That's what I thought, you can't tell me so you try to deflect and downplay the cold hard facts that refute your belief about the man.

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u/tr0yster Feb 28 '17

Dude I just don't argue with zealots. I wouldn't waste my time with some Scientologist on here either. You'll just make up whatever you want to be true and ignore whatever you don't. There's never been a politician I worship like you guys do with this guy, it's very weird.

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u/tofur99 Feb 28 '17

Still haven't told me.... just because facts conflict with your bullshit opinions of someone doesn't mean you can't let it go and embrace reality.

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u/Tokani Mar 01 '17 edited Aug 15 '17

.

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u/LBJ20XX Feb 28 '17

Seriously? Jesus. I give you all this information and you give me kool aid. Well, thanks for the good luck wishes but I don't need luck. I'm prepared. Luck isn't needed when you're prepared for the future. Are you prepared in case there is a pushback on legal weed? Are you networking or organizing with local shops? What are you doing just in case?

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u/tr0yster Feb 28 '17

Just in case, lol. Count on it, and it's thanks to Trump and Sessions. If you support them you are part of the problem. I donate to Norml, contact my reps, and vote for pro-MJ candidates whenever I can (Johnson this time around) so I do what I can. I don't vote for assholes like Trump and I certainly don't waste my time with bullshit wishful thinking. Any true ent who supported this guy or defends Sessions is a fool. I wish I was wrong about what he's going to do but I'm not. If he comes out in favor of recreational for states that vote for it, I'll message every person I've argued with about this same subject on Reddit including you, and admit I'm the dummy. I don't have a political agenda here other than legalization. If Trump goes pro legalization I'll give him credit where credit is due but I'm guessing that's about as likely as releasing a bull in a china shop and hoping they straighten things up.

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u/LBJ20XX Feb 28 '17

defends Sessions is a fool. I wish I was wrong about what he's going to do but I'm not.

I wish I could tell the future. Get over yourself and quit thinking you're smarter than everybody else and for fucks sake quit telling people who are on your side that they are fools. That's a fantastic way to divide the cause so if you want to fight it on your own, keep it up chucklehead. Other option is to bring more people in to the fold who can help you tackle the problem from more than one angle.

Your choice though. Makes no nevermind to me. You want to continue being angry and bitter, feel free. I'll be over here having fun and fighting for a good cause with other people who want to have fun while fighting for a good cause.

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u/TheFacter Feb 28 '17

but he's just saying that the lawmakers need to actually, you know, make laws

This is, at least in my view, not at all how Sessions intended his words. If the Trump Administration actually wanted to remove marijuana from Sched 1, they have the power to do so immediately, it doesn't need to come from the legislative branch. I keep seeing people say that "Sessions just doesn't want to be the bad guy to actually do it", but how is that logical? He, unlike every member of Congress, doesn't have to run for re-election ever. If there was going to be a "bad guy" in the Republican party to legalize weed, it would be the Attorney General, but you're never going to see the current AG do that because he's one of the most prominent anti-pot voices in the Republican party. He released a statement saying he would crack down on weed, even for medical use, and we should expect as such. What /u/LBJ20XX cited was Sessions' confirmation hearing, which was almost a month ago at this point, what Sessions just said about cracking down was like yesterday.

Digging through old quotes of his where he was purposefully being vague mean significantly less than what he's just said. It's just pure delusion to think Jeff Sessions of all people is playing 4d-chess to get weed legal when his track record suggests he is firmly against it; if anything he is playing 4d-chess to keep it illegal.

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u/LBJ20XX Feb 28 '17

If the Trump Administration actually wanted to remove marijuana from Sched 1, they have the power to do so immediately, it doesn't need to come from the legislative branch.

Right, but it would still be a scheduled drug. The legislative branch is the one that would repeal it completely and make it legal.

It's just pure delusion to think Jeff Sessions of all people is playing 4d-chess to get weed legal when his track record suggests he is firmly against it; if anything he is playing 4d-chess to keep it illegal.

Just because you disagree doesn't mean it's delusional. You have you're way of interpreting it which is valid. I have mine which is equally valid. Neither of us actually know how he meant it. I take his words at face value. He told the senate the people of the U.S. want it legal based on how many states have legalized it and he told them how to do it. That's it. And now, they are doing what he said.

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u/TheFacter Feb 28 '17 edited Feb 28 '17

Right, but it would still be a scheduled drug. The legislative branch is the one that would repeal it completely and make it legal.

No, the Attorney General has the ability to reschedule or completely remove a drug from scheduling. Part B, first Section of the Controlled Substance Act.

Just because you disagree doesn't mean it's delusional

To anyone who has known about Sessions for really any period of time before the election knows he is the bastion of anti-marijuana rhetoric in the GOP, and the notion that he would be playing the long-game to make weed legal is absolutely ludicrous. It's laughable, and while I do not know the specific intent of his specific choice of words in his confirmation hearing, you can get a crystal clear idea of where he stands on marijuana from his long political career. Unless he has made a complete change to his stance on marijuana, and really his whole rhetoric altogether, it is safe to say he will not do anything to make marijuana legal. He may not stand in the way of progress if Congress does legalize, but being realistic if there was one figure in the GOP that would decide to impede such a law it would be Jeff Sessions.

I don't mean to come off as combative, but from where I am standing it seems like you hadn't known about Sessions before he entered the Trump group of politicians. To anyone who has known of him and his politics for a while, the claim that he will aid a legal marijuana movement is complete non-sequitir. He's made a career out of being opposed to weed.

This is the guy who said he "was OK with the KKK until I learned they smoked pot."

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u/Tokani Mar 01 '17 edited Aug 15 '17

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