Great. Now if I could just afford a quarter pound I'd be all set.

I'm still miffed the CBC cancelled jPod.

That's right breeders- just remember the gays got your back.

“The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business,”

That is a great quote. It should be engraved on the front of the White House.

100 grams! Don't worry, skip. If this ever comes to pass, raising enough cash for 100 grams will be a great problem to have.

“The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business,” Frank said during a Capitol Hill news conference.

Frank has also been at the forefront of criticizing the government's War on Online Gambling, good for him, but his overall record (and the record of just about everyone in Congress) shows that they indeed consider most parts of human activity to be the government's business.

More proof the Red Bushies are the Nanny State Government.

All right, Rep. Frank, that's wonderful. So can we agree that some of the things that are none of the government's business include my emails and phone records?

"“The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business,”

Amen, Mr. Frank. Tonight, I will spark one up in your honor.

Too bad it will be a cold day in hell before government drug policy is driven by rational thought.

Thank you, Rep. Frank!! Keeping pot illegal is a horrible waste of our tax dollars.

This could be interesting. If you were to see if Hemp Oil could be an alternative to fossil fuel & ethanol? You could field of Hemp plants growing underneath the thousands of wind mills. Hemp Oil could be the ultimate alternative energy. It would create an opportunity for Hemp to become traded as a commodity - like Corn, Soybeans..etc. That would create an economic boost to all the worlds markets.Think of it, a brand new commodity on the open financial markets that could be traded & is the ultimate - re-usable green product in the world. If done properly, this could be huge! Please think about this or pass this idea around please.

Maybe not @10. With marijuana now estimated to generate more revenue than corn nationally, and with this year's estimated budget deficit approaching a half TRILLION dollars, at some point the government is going have no choice but to start viewing this as an economic, rather than as a law enforcement issue.

The deciding factor will eventually become one of how much money is SPENT trying to prevent people from growing, harvesting, distributing, purchasing, and consuming marijuana versus how much much money can be EARNED from the licensed cultivation, distribution, and purchase of it.

After reading the latest New Yorker, I'm wondering how much revenue Cali gets from medical marijuana licenses ...

Kudos to Frank!

Now I'm just waiting for him to say "The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business" in relation to sub-minimum-wage employment, and for the Stranger to bless that position, too. If it's not okay to nanny people's drug consumption, why is it okay to nanny their wage negotiations?

legalize it all the way or don't. making it legal to posess, but illegal to grow or distribute is fucking retarded.

Max @ 16: Agreed. That New Yorker article mentioned by Will @ 14 makes an interesting proint in this regard. The current quasi-legal regieme has kept costs high and networks relatively small-scale. It allows the aging boomers who participate in the market to make a good living and feel like they are still rebels. Under a fully legalized regieme, more efficient large-scale operations would quickly develop, and pot would loose much of its counter-cultural cache.

Interesting point COMTE. After all, marijuana may be one of the last truly valuable commodities produced domestically in the good ole U.S. of A. Even the meth is imported now that the ephedrine is a controlled substance. Legalizing marijuana could become a patriotic act! Get us off of those damn foreign imports!

The U.S. should stop arresting responsible marijuana users but...

Might this not have a negative effect on the number of mean people with big guns that hand around the international borders?

And, of course the government should stay out of our business -- unless that business concerns plastic grocery bags.

@15: There is a difference. Staying out of people's lives, when there is no benefit for society and government and when there is.

Wage increases (and minimums) have positive effects on society, and increase tax-revenue. (obviously you can't increase it too much, but it needs to happen). The need to protect low-wage workers from expolitation is important and beneficial.

Using scarce police resources to police minor activity is not benefial to anyone. It also adds even more costs the govenment in jail, trials, etc. That is the difference.

Does Frank's bill allow for placing casino bets with marijuana instead of cash?? Then we'll know the nanny state is banished.

@20 - but, Original Monique, the Republicans want us all to live in a Nanny State and need an excuse to lock up black people ...

Couldn't we legalize it in the state of Washington for possession, production, and sale on the private level?

I don't really want to see Camel "Greens" marketed by corporations. But what a great legal boost to the economy if you could grow and sell pot yourself.

No middle men allowed. Not available in stores.

Props as well goes to Ron Paul, the co-sponsor.

One of many reasons he had a following for his Primary campaign.