Dude! Cali is going to vote on the legalization of recreational marijuana! It's about frickin' time. And if you're curious as to which way I'd vote (if I were still living in California) I'd give it a big fat YES! And not necessary for the reasons you might think.
Legalizing pot would be one of the most “Uh, Duh!” moments in American history. I'm mean think about it. It's something that should've been done YEARS ago. Putting that legal stamp of approval on it now is a way of finally admitting that the emperor has no clothes and acknowledging that elephant in the room. Really, folks, we’ve been delusional all these years over perceived perils of marijuana and it’s about time we took a hard, honest look at marijuana in our society.
This country has blown millions if not billions over the last 100 years in an effort to criminalize the use of marijuana and stigmatize it's users as half-celled sloths in a perpetual stupor eating way too much pizza. (Side note - that description of pot users is a bit more contemporary. Go look for the 1936 film "Reefer Madness" to see how pot users are portrayed as blood lusting, women-raping beasts. Funny, all the people I know that smoke pot are actually very mellow souls). Why so much angst over pot? Our parents don’t like it because they grew up in a generation where only the dregs of society smoked pot. You know… musicians. You watch the History Channel and do a little internet reading and you realize the government was against pot for mostly monetary reasons. Unfortunately they also used it as a way to stigmatize blacks and Hispanics. (Ugh, there’s that “ugly American” again). Money and control are the real issues here. When it comes to pot, the government doesn’t have it. Industry doesn’t have it. The two largest entities that control this great country of ours – industrialist and politicians – have no seat at the table, yet.
It’s great to see California take that first step. Unfortunately the motives aren't what you'd hope for. Ideally the push for legalizing marijuana should be the acknowledgement that marijuana is no more harmful to the person or any more dangerous to our community as are cigarettes, alcohol or prescription drugs. Now I know you old-timers out there will argue differently but there is just way too much medical evidence to the contrary and I’m not about to waste your time here going over those facts. Suffice to say the only difference between pot and those other vices is government control. The motivation here is all money. California is damn near broke and they need cash now. So why not legalize and tax it? For years people have argued against the legalization of pot over morale issues. Funny how morality mysteriously disappears when dollars become the hot topic. Hey, we all have to put food on the table.
Now I’ll be honest, I’m not crazy about marijuana. Sure, I’ve tried it several times over my life and enjoyed doing it, no doubt. But my personal choice has been and always will be a great beer (preferably German) or a nice red wine. Pot just doesn’t do it for me. Pot, like wine, or beer or cocktails, is a matter of taste. Some folks really like it, some folks don’t. Some folks use it in moderation, some folks don’t. But that’s the same for ANY legalized recreational stimulant. (Feel free to include your Lattes and Mochas here, too).
Ok all you government cronies, you need to take a line out of the movie “The Godfather”…”keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer”. Embrace pot, the same way you do alcohol and tobacco. Legislate it, tax it, control the crap out of it. Like alcohol, don’t arrest someone for being drunk or stoned. Arrest them for being disorderly. Arrest them for driving under the influence. Arrest them for selling to minors. Hey, wow, it sounds like we already have a bunch of these laws. So it looks like all you have to do is add “marijuana” and you’re done! Sweet, now go do something a bit more productive, like fixing our educational system.
Here’s hoping California and the rest of the nation does the right thing.
Reader’s Note: I was informed by my daughter that “pot” is a term used only by older people. The term “weed” is more appropriate. Damn kids!
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