Pubdate: Wed, 04 May 2011 Source: Missoulian (MT) Copyright: 2011 Missoulian Contact: http://www.missoulian.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/720 Author: L.B. Nelson GOP FUELS CARTELS, BIG GOVERNMENT The Republicans have not learned from history and they are doomed to repeat it. I will not join the Republican Party in Montana, nor will I send them money. As a conservative, Tea Party enthusiast, I don't believe the Republican Party understands that we are conservatives because we believe in the Constitution and the limits that document puts on our government. The amount of money we've spent since the 1970s putting people in jail for marijuana is astounding. Just when I think we may finally have figured out what a farce it is, my own party (since 1982) claims that they were "elected to solve the medical marijuana issue." No, you weren't. You were elected to force the government to live within its means, keep out of our lives as much as the Constitution says is proper, and support efforts to create an environment in which small businesses and large can thrive. We want to work, sell our products and live in safety. I am not convinced that the money we spend to put marijuana users and distributors in jail, supposedly to keep us safe, is worth the paper it's printed on. Four thousand new jobs, a market that can be regulated easily, and your solution is to give the state the right to search people's homes? Wow. Socialism is alive and well in the hands of those who think they know better, and somehow, someone has convinced our less-government-is-better legislators that more government is needed here. Put the cartels out of business once and for all in Montana: pass regulation that makes sense (i.e., Department of Public Health and Human Services approval for a card, increase the fee to collect taxes for enforcement, and clear, intelligent instructions to the businesses who choose to enter this market). L.B. Nelson Missoula - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.