CNBC Host Bashes Schwarzenegger
May 15th, 2009 by RickOn his May 12 broadcast, Larry Kudlow, host of The Kudlow Report, expressed his belief that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is hiding behind the agenda of legalizing marijuana to compensate for his lackluster job as the head of state and to generate revenue for California’s deflated budget.
Gov. Schwarzenegger, I mean he basically wants to get everybody stoned and then raise taxes. [...] Now I have a problem with that. If we raise taxes, we ought to do it in a sober way so people can lash back at it.
Kudlow goes on to say:
The guy is desperate for revenue to finance his gigantic spending programs. [...] He’s really failed as a governor. When he beat Gray Davis a couple of years back, he was going to balance the budget, keep taxes down, stop spending. He’s failed at all that stuf.
At the end Kudlow reveals:
I have nothing against Gov. Schwarzenegger personally. [...] But I think the guy’s had a really bad term and I think this legalization of marijuana is a last-ditch attempt for him to stir the pot, almost to distract from his other problems.
For Kudlow not having a personal problem with Schwarzenegger, he certainly took things out of context that made it appear that he did. From him saying that Arnold wants to get “everyone stoned” shows that because from all the clips shown in the news, Schwarzenegger said that it may be time for a serious, rational debate on the issue of legalization. Maybe Kudlow should have invited Governor Schwarzenegger onto the show, instead of having a friend speak for him.
As for Stephen Baldwin, that guy needs to go back to making movies with Pauly Shore and stick to what he’s good at, instead of trying to appear he knows what the fuck he’s talking about.
CNBC Power Lunch Debates Marijuana Regulation
March 25th, 2009 by RickGuests included Marijuana Policy Project Executive Director Rob Kampia, former DEA Director Asa Hutchinson and a variety of other panel guests debating the failure of the war on marijuana and the benefits of it’s taxation and regulation. In classic antiquated, psychobabble government-rhetoric, Hutchinson compares the marijuana plant to harmful drugs like cocaine and meth. He even compares tobacco as being a harmful drug. Tobacco!
Imagine, a product that has been taxed, marketed and made available worldwide which systematically has been linked to cancers that have killed people — being in the same league as marijuana. Marijuana hasn’t killed anyone to date, yet marijuana prohibition has certainly killed those that could have benefited from the medicinal properties that the plant brings. $10 billion was spent by the DEA cracking down on just marijuana.
California, a state that has medical marijuana laws, made $11 million from taxing the medical marijuana being sold. Compared to $10 billion and the way money has been floating around this country lately, $11 million isn’t much – but it shows that money can be made. If every state had medical marijuana laws then a good revenue could be generated. Some medical-grade marijuana can sell for $3000 a pound and right now there are around 400 dispensaries in California alone.
Hutchinson goes on to say that the government policy on states with medical marijuana laws have changed but they are still continuing to go after those that are outside both state and federal law.
CNBC Originals: Marijuana Inc.
January 26th, 2009 by PerryThe much-anticipated documentary, Marijuana Inc., is now available to view at your convenience courtesy of Hulu.
If you missed the Marijuana Inc. documentary on CNBC, it’s basically a look at the ineffectiveness of the federal government’s efforts at marijuana eradication, as well as a look at Mendocino County, probably the largest concentration of state-legal marijuana in the United States. Here’s some commentary on the documentary from the Marijuana Policy Project.
CNBC Documentary: Marijuana Inc.
January 16th, 2009 by Alex
CNBC is coming out with a marijuana documentary called ‘Marijuana Inc: Inside America’s Pot Industry‘. As the name suggests, the story focuses on the monetary gains of the pot cultivation and distribution industry in California.
It covers the usual range of subjects:
- Cultivation and suburban/rural grow oeprations
- Dispensaries and the questionable legality they rely on
- Increased crime rate in Mendocino county and other grower-heavy areas
- State & federal level arrests and prosecutions
It should be interesting to see a corporate-produced documentary on the marijuana industry and its effect on the American community, as compared to the multiple independent efforts that have been released over the past year. What do you think, will the overall tone be negative or positive?
We’ll be watching, if you want to see Marijuana Inc., check your local listings for the correct channel, the documentary premieres on Thursday, January 22nd at 9pm & 1am EST.
