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Comment by candiddevmike | Hacker News Reader

The party of small government killing a new, billion dollar industry because Mitch McConnell's state beverage is seeing declining sales.

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A similar thing can be observed in Germany: the most anti-cannabis state is the state that produces the most alcohol (Bavaria)

That's less because Bavaria makes beer, otherwise the wine states would also impede cannabis.

The problem is that Söder and his CSU are obviously following the old Nixon attitude of targetting cannabis to hit left-wings [1]:

> You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.

And then you got the absolute deranged ones, like Marlene "Cannabis ist verboten, weil es eine illegale Droge ist" (cannabis is banned because it's an illegal drug") Mortler or Daniela "Cannabis ist kein Brokkoli" (cannabis ain't broccoli) Ludwig [2]. Imagine, these two utter failures were the official drug policy heads.

[1] https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-...

[2] https://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/legalisierung-von-c...

In my experience (of friends who drink and/or smoke weed) weed isn’t replacing drinking wine, it’s replacing drinking beer and booze.

Bavarian attitude towards cannabis always bordered on authoritarianism, ever before weed legalisation became a political mainstream topic.

Police was infamous for kicking in your door if a random copper walked home and smelled weed. "You smell like you got some weed on you" was a popular excuse the cops used at Munich Central Station to fleece everyone they deemed to look like a punk or, worse, Black person.

And the latter, well, it's certainly not a coincidence that the cops asked for, and got, the weapon ban zones in train stations giving them back the authority to fleece people at will, right after the cannabis legalisation came in force last year.

It's not about cannabis, it's not about the guns, it's all about the ability of the fucking cops to abuse their power whenever they goddamn want to, and Bavarian police are notable in Germany for being particularly aggressive and ignorant.

You realize that this statement was completely fabricated by a legalization proponent, correct? No historian takes that "quote" seriously.

Best of luck to them! I am not forced to inhale beer while walking down the street, yet there is seemingly always a pothead around.

Then you don't live, like me, in the Ballard neighborhood of seattle where there must be 50 microbreweries. Every few mornings the whole neighborhood smells like rotting bread. I'd be happy to run into someone smoking weed on the street during those times, I find that smell much more pleasent.

Or never encountered the drunks on Alki during the summer.

And? There is also always people smelling like shit, with perfume, driving combustion vehicles, using grills, or working in any of the numerous industries that create smells. Why is marijuana so special that it needs to be dealt with, but I can be assaulted by some petrochemical and whale barf cocktail fumes with no restriction?

I thought that was because of the tit-for-tat with Canada.

I'd think a joint and a glass of bourbon would go hand-in-hand.

Personally, I don't drink or smoke, but I think the "war on drugs" has been a miserable failure that has been, for the most part, a footgun.

> the "war on drugs" has been a miserable failure that has been, for the most part, a footgun.

It has accomplished everything its proponents hoped for and much more.

"You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities”

- John Ehrlichman, assistant to the president for domestic affairs under Richard Nixon

Typical war on the 'others' as championed by the Conservative party members: terrorists, Communists, immigrants, 'drug' users, hippies, ANTIFA, liberals, etc, etc, etc.

It is my understanding that neither Canada nor the USA allows for the importation of products containing THC, so I don't see this as having anything to do with Canada. Perhaps I do not understand what you mean to say?

Canada has pulled American liquor from sales as a tariff retaliation, so Kentucky bourbon sales have dropped considerably. Thus we have the senator from Kentucky trying to kill off domestic competitors for Kentucky liquor.

Since tariffs were placed on Canada, Canada has been boycotting American industries like whisky, specifically because they are significant industries in Republican-controlled states. I don't know whether this move against THC is a response to that pressure, but that's the reference.

You're missing the parent comment's point. Bourbon sales are way down significantly because the largest liquor importer on the continent (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) has banned the import of all American products. Many other provinces followed suit.

They can blame Trump, not go after Hemp farmers.

I disagree. Legalizing drugs has only created larger black markets in states like California and allowed cartels to legally get into the business and gain more power in other countries.

Can you explain how legalisation created larger black markets? Got some stats for that?

Sure. Black markets are cheaper than legal weed, because they don't have to pay taxes due to heavy regulations.

There have been multiple studies in Colorado and California that have shown that black markets aren't shrinking, but expanding.

Legal weed and other drugs creates more demand, and the black market picks up these extra customers.

This was easily predicted by me and many other people, before legalization.

I suppose it's why I'm making more money than ever in this economy and most other people are getting laid off.

Yes, I can believe that. We have the same problem with tobacco in France because it is too heavily taxed (black market is massive nowadays).

But that's really a government problem. They always pretend to tax stuff because it will slow the consumption but it never works, people keep using as much or even more if they get served on the black market that doesn't have to answer to regulation and taxation.

All of this is very well known, you just can't regulate drugs consumption, the only thing that works it social pressure but since governments have no say/power in that they pretend otherwise.

It's all very hypocritical, the only reason they legalise some stuff is because they want the tax money. Cannabis is heavily regulated because it is so simple to grow that there would be very little tax money to be made. You would just need to know someone who grow some in his garden, like tomatoes and around the time of harvest you would get massive oversupply.

Fascinating. I don't doubt your experience but I wonder where you are and which segment you're in. What I've heard is that it's the opposite for growers in California. Where weed previously went for $4,000/lb, it now goes for $400/lb.

> I'd think a joint and a glass of bourbon would go hand-in-hand.

They don't. Drunkenness just kind of nullifies pot. I might have a beer when I'm stoned, but only a very tasty one, and only one.

I think that extremely light pot smoking is killing alcohol sales. The tiniest bit of pot is just as pleasing as a mild alcohol buzz, and an alcohol buzz kills the effect of pot. I know I got in the habit for a while of smoking a tiny, tiny bit when I got home, with the effect long gone before I went to sleep. Back in the day (and sometimes still), I would have had one beer, or one glass of wine.

There are terms for the combined effects of drinking alcohol and smoking weed. Cross-faded in English, pachipedo in Spanish. I find these terms and the effects they refer to enjoyable.

In my experience, there is no such nullification.

I. am. not. strunk.

> Drunkenness just kind of nullifies pot.

???

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l11hARAnpcM

>The party of small government killing a new, billion dollar industry because Mitch McConnell's state beverage is seeing declining sales.

McConnel sponsored the original bill. Kentucky is historically one of the largest hemp producing states. The whole thing just shows how inept the entire administration is. DJT 45 signed the original law himself, after it was drafted and passed by his Republican house and senate.

Let's be clear McConnel isn't writing or doing anything. The man has been in a 'Weekend at Bernies' state for at least a couple of years. He's on camera being literally held up by his aides and seemingly having moments where he goes completely no communicative IN FRONT OF CAMERS several times, and not in a "I just don't have anything to say way" but just straight up 'freezing' in place. Either because of dementia or some kind of seizure.

It won't take effect for a year. Plenty of time to stock up.

There is no party of small government in the US. Libertarians have a long-standing alliance with mainstream Republicans, but they are unambiguously the smaller and weaker member.

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