Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Open Government Brainstorm Defies Wisdom of Crowds

Posted by Soulskill on from the democracy-that's-easy-enough-for-stoners dept.

theodp writes "In May, the White House launched what it called an 'unprecedented online process for public engagement in policymaking.' Brainstorming was conducted in an effort to identify ways to 'strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness by making government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.' So, what were some of the top vote-getters? Currently near the top of the list are Legalize Marijuana And Solve Many Tax Issues / Prison Issues (#2) and Remove Marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (#3). For those who remember Obama's earlier Online Town Hall, it's deja vu all over again."

2 of 709 comments (clear)

  1. Related, in a way by Looce · · Score: 5, Informative

    I used to think that all drugs were bad, and all that stuff. But after reading the second linked thread, the Schedule I thread, specifically the bits about

    * marijuana not killing people as much as tobacco and alcohol;
    * pure THC being ranked as a Schedule III drug and marijuana as a Schedule I drug (see comment by user pbrigando13);
    * Oxycontin et al., more damaging and causing more of a dependency than marijuana (which creates none), not being on the Controlled Substances List altogether;
    * (taking this one with a grain of salt) the advantages of marijuana, rarer use of violence and driving accidents from users than alcoholics, etc. (see comment by user onegod1world)

    , I'm reconsidering that stance.

    Also, I'd like to point out that #1 is End Imperial Presidency -- with 755 votes against #2's 351 --, heavily criticizing Bush's presidency and calling out what happened in Iraq as war crimes, as they should be called. That is a serious one, and I for one am glad that it got voted up top.

  2. Re:marijuana legalization issue was Painful to Wat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Research from the Dutch "Nederlands Forensisch Instituut" (Dutch Forensics Institute) shows that the effect of a single joint equates to about 1.1 ppt alcohol in the blood. In 2006, out of 730 casualties in lethal accidents, 75 were drugsrelated (also cocaine, speed etc. but that doesnt impact driving as much as marihuana). Currently experiments are underway to determine intoxication level with drugs out of the cheekslime. To this date a bloodtest is required, which is done on suspects (smells like having smoked pot, eyes looking decidedly vague, reactions not very coordinated etc.)

    See http://thecoffeeshops.wordpress.com/tag/jointje/ for the Dutch article.

    So it's not FUD, and research has been done over here where its legal to smoke it, and yes it does cause serious traffic accidents.

    Note: I am completely in favor of legalizing it. But don't say it's harmless - driving after smoking, especially given current THC levels in joints, is NOT harmless. Oh, and don't compare your homegrown weed with the stuff you buy in the coffeeshops over in Holland. The THC of the current export-quality pot is nothing to scoff at and can knock you out quite easily.