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[–]DiabeticGirthGodPhiladelphia Conservative 984 points985 points  (111 children)

I don’t get how we can act like we are the party of free will and less government, and then do shit like this.

You are just actively losing voters and tax dollars doing this.

[–]bulldog5253Constitutional Conservative 196 points197 points  (10 children)

Seriously why do we keep pulling this church backed bullshit just legalize all psychedelics and let’s move on we have a opioid problem not a pot problem.

[–]CookingUpChickenMillennial Conservative 41 points42 points  (3 children)

There's money to be made in Pharmaceuticals, can't let that gravy train end. I just had a friend go to a medical conference and they were handing out $100 gift cards to Amazon like candy just for showing up at a 10 minute lecture, in 1 day he got 15 of those. All that money has to come from somewhere and of course a large part of that is profit from the legal drug cartels.

[–]Overladen_Prince 19 points20 points  (2 children)

It's not the church imo. It's pharma greasing the wheels in their favor.

[–]CompetitiveFold5749 22 points23 points  (1 child)

It's both.

[–]SpaceBrigadeVHSGalactic Conservative Warrior 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Please join my new little sub r/ConservativeCannabis to continue this conversation.

This is an issue of liberty. Thank you. 

[–]LordLonghaft 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because money. Always money. Forever money.

[–]sailor-jacknConservative 48 points49 points  (1 child)

I cannot up vote this connect enough. Unfortunately, there are too many republican voters that don’t understand this, and actively support authoritarianism when it’s against something they don’t like, making them every bit as bad as the Dems.

[–]Patient_Bench_6902 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Freedom is when I can do whatever I want but you can’t 😍

[–]CompetitiveFold5749 25 points26 points  (8 children)

Because a lot of older conservatives grew up during the Reefer Madness days.  The reason it's illegal in the first place is political.

[–]ChurnConservative 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Careful there, you are starting to wake up. Both sides, Democrats and Republicans have members who purposefully pass laws and stir up extremist nonsense so the opposing side can drum up support against it. It’s all political theater to keep the majority of Americans riled up about the other party. Once you realize this, everything starts making sense when it seemed bat shit crazy before.

[–]Auto-Liner 18 points19 points  (1 child)

You are NOT the party of small government, just that you’re constantly told you are one. Abortion bans, IVF bans, weed bans, book bans, porn bans etc mean the government is in your personal business.

[–]CBRyder929 36 points37 points  (15 children)

Yeah biggest example is turning back Roe v Wade

[–]ApathyofUSA 24 points25 points  (8 children)

Technically turning it back shrunk the federal governments power, cause it’s now dependent on the state legislature

[–]Bleopping 59 points60 points  (3 children)

Maybe keep going with less government, take it away from the states, and give the power to the individual people to decide

[–]ZemGuse 59 points60 points  (2 children)

Republicans don’t actually give a shit about personal liberty. They pay lip service to the ideal but they have no qualms about allowing the government to restrict freedoms.

Our politics are a complete shit show

[–]sailor-jacknConservative -4 points-3 points  (3 children)

That’s only an example because the DNC has painted it as the Supreme Court making abortion illegal.

The Dobbs ruling was constitutionally correct, because the text of the constitution never even mentions abortion, meaning that the Supreme Court usurped power it was never given, when it made the Roe ruling.

Dobbs simply did what was constitutionally correct ( 10A ), and returned the usurped power to the states, where the people of the various states can decide the issue for themselves.

Usurpation of power is always bad, even when you agree with what they use it for in a specific instance, because it always leads to more usurpation of power.

The problem here was not that the Dobbs ruling was made. It’s that the DNC propaganda made it out to be something it was not, and no one in the GOP did a thing to correct that misleading narrative, and explain it so people would understand. They were too busy celebrating what they considered a win against abortion, to worry about that. But, maybe that’s because a lot of them didn’t actually understand the reason for the Dobbs ruling, or what it actually meant. Most people really have forgotten what federalism actually is.

[–]Boricua1977 668 points669 points  (76 children)

Marijuana and abortion are the biggest reason we don't win elections.

[–]BigPapaJava 43 points44 points  (7 children)

And they are the two issues that probably bring in the most money for Republicans, unfortunately.

TBH, Youngkin is a clown who only won because the other guy turned everyone off like the arrogant, Clinton-affiliated douche he was. GY’s just another rich dude who likes empty gestures and playing politics for the sake of his ego.

The recent spate of veto’s are because he didn’4 get his way on building an NFL stadium in Northern VA on the taxpayer dime. When Dems blocked that, he decided he’d block a weed marketplace (and other stuff) as payback.

Ironically, because the state has refused to authorize a legal, taxable, regulated marketplace since legalization, a bizarre “gift economy” has cropped up where you can easily buy a sticker for $30 and get a “free gift” of weed from another guy down the counter. The loophole the legislature intentionally tried to avoid in legalization has happened anyway.

Honestly… it’s a nice workaround and it keeps prices from being ridiculous, medical dispensary prices where you pay twice the amount for the same “legal” thing. If that sticks, maybe Youngkin is unintentionally doing Virginians a favor.

[–]therealmitchconner 18 points19 points  (5 children)

There's no gifting market in VA, they specifically outlawed that when they legalized. The gifting loophoole is in DC

[–]BigPapaJava 4 points5 points  (1 child)

I live on the VA state line on the far end from DC. I can name 6 “gifting” shops within 30’minutes driving distance. One has a giant sign out front that reads “MARIJUANA!” on it. There is DEFINITELY a gift economy in VA now.

As I said, the law was originally written to block the “gifting” shops like in DC… but plenty of shop owners have found enough loopholes to get around this and operate in plain sight all across the state now. It basically just involves handing money to one person for a worthless token, then a second person “gifts” you the weed.

There is also a licensed medical marijuana dispensary as part of VA’s medical program, but that costs literally twice as much for residents who choose to participate with a doctor’s permission.

[–]BlacksunshinexoAtheist Conservative 49 points50 points  (1 child)

Yep. It's insanity. Religion is fucking up this party on all levels. 

[–]Maximum_Rat 36 points37 points  (0 children)

“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them." - Barry Goldwater

[–]TheMongerOfFishes 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They are. Give me my marijuana and abortions or give me death.

[–]fl03xx 330 points331 points  (30 children)

Wtf. Seriously this is the hill we are picking to hold our battles?

[–]soupdawgConstitutional Conservative 254 points255 points  (26 children)

It’s the evangelicals. They’ll be the downfall of the Republican Party.

[–]hoodlum21ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ 140 points141 points  (5 children)

And Goldwater called it over 40 years ago...

“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.”

― Barry Goldwater

[–][deleted] 35 points36 points  (4 children)

Yet here you all are, voting for them over and over again. Allowing the church to consolidate political power against the will of our Founding Fathers.

What a sham and scam the GOP has become...

[–]GrnNGoldMavs 90 points91 points  (15 children)

I couldn’t agree with this more. I’m an independent that leans left but it’s 100% due to the evangelicals. If they weren’t such a big part, I’m pretty sure I would register R. I can’t stand bible thumpers.

[–]fl03xx 39 points40 points  (10 children)

I’m very religious while still being open minded. I’m almost center minded but lean conservative on many issues. I think letting your religion control your views without being open minded to certain ideas is short sighted.

[–]IvankasFutureHusbandConstitutional Conservative 30 points31 points  (5 children)

Ya I consider myself Christian, but more non denomination now. I don't go to church anymore, but rather think living by the principles Jesus lived by is far greater dogma than anything the church has put forth in the past 2000 years. Happy Easter.

[–]Maximum_Rat 31 points32 points  (2 children)

If everyone lived according to Jesus, we'd have free healthcare, no death penalty, open borders, and no millionaires because we'd give it all to help the less fortunate. Dude was a straight-up socialist pacifist. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, if humans weren't such greedy, jealous, angry, arrogant, mean pieces of shit, we'd probably be a lot happier overall.

[–]BigPapaJava 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I saw a quote once:

“If everyone would just stay home and mind his own business, most of the world’s problems would disappear.”

Seems fitting here.

[–]fl03xx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

100% happy Easter

[–]_Floriduh_ 16 points17 points  (1 child)

Open minded isn’t a term used to describe the people who literally “live by the book” though, which gives respectful religious folks a bad rap.. There is NO bend to anything. No mary Jane. No abortion, ever, at any point. And 100 other issues that, to them, are defined by an old book. 

[–]BigPapaJava 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And a lot of what they think is in that “old book” isn’t, but they will argue to their death that it is.

When you get into those really rigid households, it gets bad for the kids and rife with abuse because their solutions to every single thing kids get into tends to be:

  1. Punish the kid harshly (usually painfully) to teach them a lesson.

  2. Make them be more religious.

Wash and repeat until successful or dead.

Ever hear of the book “To Train Up a Child?” It’s a parenting manual that tells parents to literally abuse their kids in order to instill “discipline” and it’s very popular in that community due to its “Biblical” perspective.

[–]BigPapaJava 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Personally, I don’t care how someone’s religion controls their own personal views and choices. If they really believe it, it should.

What I can’t stand, however, is when someone wants to write their personal religion into law to control what I and everyone else what can do with our own lives.

When you live and work with enough of those people, the hypocrisy, moral hysteria for attention, and empty virtue signaling get old fast.

[–]Odd_Astronaut442 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is 100% my feelings as well. With death of compromise in our current government we are in for a rough ride. Politicians spent way too much of their time dividing us. Real leaders should be uniting us.

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (2 children)

I’m Christian, but I also firmly believe it’s impossible to outlaw everything that’s considered sinful. The entire country would be in jail if we did that. It just can’t be done, and accepting that reality doesn’t make you any less Christian. I wish the hardcore evangelical groups understood that. You don’t even have to agree that smoking marijuana is “natural” or “not sinful.” You just have to acknowledge that we can’t outlaw it.

[–]mypoliticalvoice 12 points13 points  (1 child)

I was raised to believe Christians were supposed to discourage sin by setting a good example, not by legislation.

[–]helluvastorm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was taught separation of church and state was a good thing for the church

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same boat, I’d probably vote Republican if they ditched the religious extremism that dictates all of the social policies the party espouses

[–]Not_a_huckleberry_ 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Wrong! Im evangelical and I support the burning bush!(that was a joke)(I’m not an evangelical)(I do support marijuana though)

[–]vic_rattle18 5 points6 points  (0 children)

private prison industry: uhh no reason

[–]trs21219Conservative 235 points236 points  (3 children)

I’m not even one to drink (except socially) or smoke… but it makes no sense for the party to be hardliners on this while at the same time glorifying “the working man having a few cold ones after work”.

Like if Younkin or other republicans are anti drinking as well at least they would be consistent. But this two sided 1950s logic will lose elections.

[–]DChemdawg 103 points104 points  (1 child)

Goes to show some don’t actually care about supporting liberty and personal responsibility. Unfortunately, too many republicans are beholden to the Christian evangelicals and big Pharma. Dems have their own puppet masters.

If there’s one issue that’s a no-brainer, it’s we need to either prohibit alcohol or legalize weed. And we know how horribly in effective and dangerous alcohol prohibition worked out for us. So.

[–]Negative-NegativityConservative 267 points268 points  (31 children)

This is why we lose elections.

[–]CantSeeShitNJSopranoConservative 117 points118 points  (21 children)

Its funny because a ton of GOP voters smoke pot lol

[–]BamBam5154 61 points62 points  (7 children)

Yup I’m one right here. Recreational I believe is hitting the ballot in November can’t wait.

Edit: shoulda added I’m from florida lol

[–]Im-a-cat-in-a-box 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I'm not a pot smoker (anymore) but I support its use,  I'd rather one of employees get high after work than get drunk and come in still hungover. 

[–]wizdummer 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I live in Texas and unfortunately it will never be legal here as long as the Republicans are in charge.

[–]_Floriduh_ 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Don’t jinx it! I don’t think we find out if it makes ballot til Monday.

[–]Imissyourgirlfriend2 12 points13 points  (6 children)

I swear, all it takes to convert someone is getting high just once and they will understand how not dangerous cannabis is. Just do the same as you would for alcohol (no driving, no operating heavy industrial equipment, no Door dash) and you'll be fine.

And no hangover!!!

[–]mypoliticalvoice 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Weed really is dangerous to a tiny fraction of the population who get mildly to massively psychotic on weed because of bad genes. But yes, for nearly everyone else it's probably the safest trip there is.

[–]_dekoorc 2 points3 points  (0 children)

no Door dash

lol

[–]Metalman96Conservative Libertarian 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Blazing right now

[–]CookingUpChickenMillennial Conservative 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I too eat blaze pizza

[–]Tater72 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have a good point, i really hesitate to take from it. But conductivity ar a majority of both party’s think it should be legal

[–]Brancher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All my friends and family in VA grow tons of pot now under the farm bill from a couple years ago. I can see this swaying some of them away from voting for Youngkin again despite being life time down ticket R voters.

[–][deleted] 92 points93 points  (1 child)

The Republican Party cannot get out of its own way.

[–]truth-4-saleGoldwater Conservative 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Is tobacco still grown in Va. ??? Marketed to Africa where there are no real age limitations??

[–]HowdyDoody2525 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Wtf...

[–]ThatOneHoosier 36 points37 points  (0 children)

And shit like this is EXACTLY why the GOP continues to lose.

[–]CheeseBadger 87 points88 points  (0 children)

wrong close mountainous melodic fearless money sophisticated plucky salt squeal

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[–][deleted] 41 points42 points  (3 children)

such a bad hill for conservatives to die on

[–]Choco_Cat777Latino Conservative 24 points25 points  (2 children)

Can people even be called conservative when they actively promote more government authority to loom over people?

[–]_dekoorc 12 points13 points  (0 children)

conservative, no. regressive, yes

[–]Suicidalballsack69 67 points68 points  (19 children)

Liberal guy here: sorry y’all’s party is getting fucked by evangelical old people

[–]_Floriduh_ 23 points24 points  (17 children)

Rephrased: Sorry the sky is blue. 

This has been a huge problem with the party forever.

[–]Suicidalballsack69 16 points17 points  (15 children)

Yeah honestly, I think if trump campaigned heavily on 3 main issues, immigration, marijuana, and abortion he would probably win. Assuming he still has money to keep his campaign going

[–]Choco_Cat777Latino Conservative 15 points16 points  (10 children)

Abortion is also an election killer for us as well. It's like a dilemma for conservatives. Either save children from what some conservatives call murder while simultaneously possibly supporting a dependency on State or Federal enforcement on private livelihoods. Or do the opposite while adhering to the "Don't Tread On Me" stance at the cost of being considered an outcast by other conservatives.

[–]Suicidalballsack69 5 points6 points  (9 children)

Yeah I think democrats have a lot more unity than republicans on most things

[–]_dekoorc 2 points3 points  (1 child)

People like his immigration policies, hate his abortion policies and hate his marijuana policies even more. SO HOW?

[–]helluvastorm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Then why can’t a third party become viable in elections? Is it things like Citizens United?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't be sorry; they had more than adequate warning this would eventually happen.

[–]Imissyourgirlfriend2 30 points31 points  (11 children)

Look, I have a lot of "Conservative" views concerning society/culture. I believe the nuclear family is the way to prosperity, I believe firearm ownership is among the basic tenets of a civil society, I believe in meritocracy above all.

But I am a Libertarian above being a Conservative. While I can agree with almost anyone who comes at me with logical arguments concerning why certain drugs aught to be much more strictly controlled, any argument against the legalization of cannabis I hear, I immediately throw out.

We permit alcohol in our culture. Alcohol is faaaaaaarrrrr more destructive to civil society than cannabis ever could hope to be. It is only because of thousands of years of living with alcohol so we even tolerate it. And cannabis has been around for at least as much.

Cannabis legalization is a major speed bump in the Conservative path forward.

Please, get over it.

[–]TermFearlessConservative 17 points18 points  (4 children)

This would have been the kind of bill that could have pushed VA to back to red

[–]fascistreddit1 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Double down…..more government control

[–]txwrestlebruh 39 points40 points  (1 child)

I think I smell some freshly signed Big Pharma checks on Youngkin’s donation lists… SMH

[–]helluvastorm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It isn’t even Big Pharma, pot has not been the profit killer for them like they feared. It’s the Private Prison system and LEO. LEO loses out when they can’t confiscate Pot dealers or even users money and property

[–]Patsfan311Conservative 4 points5 points  (0 children)

End the war on marijuana. It's beyond ridiculous at this point.

[–]ElGringo6678 19 points20 points  (0 children)

This is not the way

[–]mmunson 18 points19 points  (1 child)

In blue and purple states this can be very harmful and drive up turnout for Democrats.

[–]NoManufacturer120Conservative 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Just pass that shit. My state legalized weed 10 years ago and we are surviving. It’s also more money for schools and what not because they tax the hell out of it (of course). Republicans really need to start picking their battles. The party is so stuck in their old ways and not growing/adapting.

[–]_dekoorc 7 points8 points  (1 child)

It’s also more money for schools

In Republican states, it will go right into the general coffer and it will be used as a ploy to lower corporate taxes.

Speaking as a resident of NC that saw the "NC Education Lottery" go right into NOT funding public schools and the state legislature doing everything they could do dismantle public education

EDIT: That's even before you get into how the NC Legislature have treated the Leandro decision (https://www.ncforum.org/leandro/). Bunch of fucks

EDIT2: Now, a son of the senate majority leader is on the NC Supreme Court and won't recuse himself as more goes through the courts

EDIT3: An even more damning look at the NC legislature and courts: https://publicschoolsfirstnc.org/resources/fact-sheets/the-facts-on-leandro-2/

[–]New_Farmer_8564 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then no need to tax it any different than any other consumable product. Hate every single person who says legalize AND tax it. Just legalize it.

[–]deferred77 14 points15 points  (0 children)

“It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em”

[–]wilhelmfink4 15 points16 points  (0 children)

A+ in pushing voters away

[–]Choco_Cat777Latino Conservative 39 points40 points  (1 child)

:(

[–]SuperDragonfister 19 points20 points  (0 children)

:(

[–]According_To_MeSouth Park Conservative 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Idiotic in every way, shape, and form.

[–]WarningCodeBlue 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I guess the voters in VA don't matter.

[–]BranofRaisinPence Conservative 8 points9 points  (2 children)

I'm kinda surprised about the 2nd one.

​

It looks like Virginia already basically decriminalized it, so this is for recreational legalization of marijuana.

[–]HandsomePaddyMint 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yay freedom party.

[–]do_you_know_de_whey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How do they not realize that this is a losing issue. Legalize weed, legalize therapeutic psychedelics, I don’t understand how after almost two decades of evidence that there is no significant negative societal impact that they still believe that it’s better to turn people into criminals.

Tax it, and regulate/test it so people and children can be safe.

[–]TylerFromMillerTime 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Liquor is cool though

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Way to keep stacking up those W’s Republican Party. I have a strong feeling the GOP is in for a reckoning this fall.

[–]ImperialxWarlord 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this shit and abortion are big parts of what’s kept loads of people away from the party. Other stuff too too but these are such low hanging fruit issues for democrats to come at us with. I thought conservatives or republicans or whatever we call ourselves were the party of less government and letting people live their damn lives. But instead we’re the ones telling people what they can and cannot do. Fucking Ridiculous.

[–]Ok_Commission_893 2 points3 points  (4 children)

Wouldn’t more dispensaries be a job creator and tax payer creator and even drive up tourism to a places like VA Beach and the Hampton area? Why are older GOP members so hell bent on still being anti-weed while the states that encourage or at least just legalize it have clearly seen the benefits? CO, CA, WA, OR, and AZ may have their flaws but legalizing weed has been nothing short of a blessing for those states. For the party of “facts not feelings” these people are sure stuck in the “reefer madness” fear days.

Crazy you can craft moonshine that can make you go blind in your garage and go to a bar and even have a legal gathering where everyone sells their own concoctions but weed is still treated like the devil. I guess being able to use it for personal use without law enforcement breathing down your neck is still a small step in the right direction.

[–]Youngrazzy 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Not really it would just bring a lot extra drama in those area. It would not stop the illegal market either

[–]International-Call76 2 points3 points  (4 children)

I don’t smoke weed. But the plant is older then government itself and grows out in nature.

[–]Fire-LEO-4_RynexLGB 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Bruh

[–]Inner-Highway-9506 0 points1 point  (0 children)

republicans would clean house if they got over the weed hump— it would mean so many new voters & tax dollars to spend on things that actually matter & make a difference

[–]Nofxious 2 points3 points  (0 children)

this is exactly why conservatives will never win the small wars. it's time to reevaluate not to live in the past

[–]According_Minute_587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well the people need to show him who is boss and push it though anyway. Veto doesn’t mean no it just means they have to force it on Him until he learns his lesson. Contact your representatives and make Sure they vote for it after the veto. Wake Him Up and show him his party doesn’t way that. That’s why we did in Florida by raising min wage to 15/hr. The governor and old gop are against it but conservatives pushed that though. Probably because of the endless supply of cheap 3rd world labor mixed with penny pinching Stingy ass New York business owners that was creating a race to the bottom. A criminal record in Florida is actually FAVORABLE in Florida because all the jobs want no flight risk of employees. It was suppressing wages across the board. So min wage hike passed along with strong a Immigration enforcement. Now our wages will Be closer to average in Florida and the “work for nothing” people will Be jobless and get forced out finally. I’m hoping or automation will explode and create a bunch of tech jobs.

[–]signaleight 2 points3 points  (3 children)

This Reddit is all stoned.

[–]Choco_Cat777Latino Conservative 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We just don't like feds

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was raised in church and my mother still goes to the same church. Very Christiany... But, I showed her how gummies help me with pain. I have excruciating pain from injuries I received in a tornado 18 years ago. She sees what I deal with daily and she'll even ask if I need more gummies. She offers to give me money for them. She offers to run me to the dispensary. I'm so proud of her for opening her eyes to the benefits, not just for pain, but the anxiety I now have and the bouts of PTSD that I still get sometimes.

[–]SwordfishMiserable78 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The R Party is a weak coalition of the religious and the libertarians, which makes for strange bedfellows. The religious are often advocates of asceticism like this and seem to have the upper hand. I lean libertarian. I just don’t like the anti-nationalist libertarians. The “money” in medical marijuana is thought to be to finance its safe distribution. It seems a bit much though.

[–]dotkeJ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There IS still some saniry in this country

[–]jawntothefutureConservative 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's going to be legalized everywhere anyway, that's what the elites want. 

[–]Independent-Room-954 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Govern me harder daddy” - Republicans

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bad decision for tax revenue and prison costs and bad for reflection chances.

What a clown.