Need more reasons to legalize marijuana? Here are two articles that show the insanity of what’s going on right now for financial reasons.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/03/strapped-police-turn-marijuana-busts-cash/
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/in-search-of-cash-long-beach-looks-to-tax-marijuana.html
How fascinating it is that the California budget crisis has brought the issue of marijuana legalization to the forefront. In one case, we see an article from Fox News where the police are conducting more pot busts to gain Federal funds. We then see an article from the Los Angeles Times where the California community of Long Beach seeks to tax marijuana to raise funds. Meanwhile, in recent weeks, we’ve seen the issue of illegal immigration and the lawlessness along the Arizona border bring to light the lawlessness the drug trade has created south of the border in Mexico and how that drug activity is spilling into the southwestern United States as smugglers illegally cross the border to places where the drug trade has set up shop in our country. When we think of alcohol prohibition we see images of Al Capone, the murderous organized crime in Chicago, where the well-meaning intent to save society from a desired substance that can be harmful created dangerous and highly destructive side consequences. The parallels to the lawlessness in the southwest are overwhelming. Likewise, on any given night in many major cities, odds are better than not a young black man will die the victim of drug related shootings. While many of these murders involve trafficking cocaine and heroin, they also point to the high stakes game the so-called drug war has created, a war that has only intensified since such talk began decades ago.
We are not going to argue that marijuana is harmless. It’s is. Marijuana is an intoxicant which can impair judgment and compulsive users can lead pretty worthless lives or subject themselves to numerous health problems as the inhalation of a thick gooey substance which marijuana smoke produces causes many of the same adverse effects as tobacco. However, from the late 60’s forward, marijuana smoking has become a part of middle class American life. How many people went to college in the 1970’s and didn’t smoke pot for at least a short period of time?
Alcohol is legal. Marijuana is not. Alcohol causes huge medical, personal, and societal problems. Who wouldn’t rather be around someone who smoked too much pot as opposed to a person who consumed too much alcohol?
With marijuana being illegal, those who desire a “buzz” are forced into dealing with the black market, the drug trade. In such a world, the drug dealers are highly motivated if they are more than just the casual pot dealer to sell drugs like heroin, crack, and cocaine that are much easier to smuggle and produce higher profits.
The notion that marijuana is a gateway drug, that somehow it has some kind of mysterious property that makes users crave harder drugs is bunk. The vast majority of pot smokers never take another intoxicating substance other than possibly alcohol. The argument is as silly as drinking water leads to alcoholism. If anything, the doom and gloom propaganda itself encourages exploration of more dangerous drugs. If folks constantly see ads and announcements that promote the notion, marijuana is a killer weed and in their personal experience, they see folks smoking pot appear to suffer no ill effects, then why should they believe similar pronouncements about the horrible drugs that almost certainly cause harm right from the first dose?
Marijuana legalization is something that surely should have happened at least 30 years ago yet is society any closer to doing so today?
Sure, some states have legalized marijuana for medical use. Others have decried that enforcement against those who possess only enough for personal consumption will not be arrested, but there seems to be no heart to legalize the drug, set up a process for its sale, and to tax it.
A movement is afoot in California to legalize marijuana as a result of the state’s severe financial difficulties. Desperate times result in desperate measures. This is not the right motive for doing the right thing. However, states can do what they chose, as long as marijuana remains prohibited by the Federal Government, problems will persist. Like so many other issues, our elected officials exhibit pure cowardice in dealing with a controversial issue. There are plenty of special interest groups that will continue to stir up the sentiment against taking the bold step to do something right.
Legalize marijuana and get the high volume drug out of the black market and into the consumer market. How much will that reduce the amount of drug traffic and perhaps inhibit demand for harder drugs. Besides that, law enforcement and health authorities could then devote full energy to dealing with serious drug addiction.
It’s long past time for Americans to stop being hypocritical on this issue and support the right decision. The right decision is legalization of marijuana setting up a regulated, taxable market for its sale.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/03/strapped-police-turn-marijuana-busts-cash/
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/in-search-of-cash-long-beach-looks-to-tax-marijuana.html
How fascinating it is that the California budget crisis has brought the issue of marijuana legalization to the forefront. In one case, we see an article from Fox News where the police are conducting more pot busts to gain Federal funds. We then see an article from the Los Angeles Times where the California community of Long Beach seeks to tax marijuana to raise funds. Meanwhile, in recent weeks, we’ve seen the issue of illegal immigration and the lawlessness along the Arizona border bring to light the lawlessness the drug trade has created south of the border in Mexico and how that drug activity is spilling into the southwestern United States as smugglers illegally cross the border to places where the drug trade has set up shop in our country. When we think of alcohol prohibition we see images of Al Capone, the murderous organized crime in Chicago, where the well-meaning intent to save society from a desired substance that can be harmful created dangerous and highly destructive side consequences. The parallels to the lawlessness in the southwest are overwhelming. Likewise, on any given night in many major cities, odds are better than not a young black man will die the victim of drug related shootings. While many of these murders involve trafficking cocaine and heroin, they also point to the high stakes game the so-called drug war has created, a war that has only intensified since such talk began decades ago.
We are not going to argue that marijuana is harmless. It’s is. Marijuana is an intoxicant which can impair judgment and compulsive users can lead pretty worthless lives or subject themselves to numerous health problems as the inhalation of a thick gooey substance which marijuana smoke produces causes many of the same adverse effects as tobacco. However, from the late 60’s forward, marijuana smoking has become a part of middle class American life. How many people went to college in the 1970’s and didn’t smoke pot for at least a short period of time?
Alcohol is legal. Marijuana is not. Alcohol causes huge medical, personal, and societal problems. Who wouldn’t rather be around someone who smoked too much pot as opposed to a person who consumed too much alcohol?
With marijuana being illegal, those who desire a “buzz” are forced into dealing with the black market, the drug trade. In such a world, the drug dealers are highly motivated if they are more than just the casual pot dealer to sell drugs like heroin, crack, and cocaine that are much easier to smuggle and produce higher profits.
The notion that marijuana is a gateway drug, that somehow it has some kind of mysterious property that makes users crave harder drugs is bunk. The vast majority of pot smokers never take another intoxicating substance other than possibly alcohol. The argument is as silly as drinking water leads to alcoholism. If anything, the doom and gloom propaganda itself encourages exploration of more dangerous drugs. If folks constantly see ads and announcements that promote the notion, marijuana is a killer weed and in their personal experience, they see folks smoking pot appear to suffer no ill effects, then why should they believe similar pronouncements about the horrible drugs that almost certainly cause harm right from the first dose?
Marijuana legalization is something that surely should have happened at least 30 years ago yet is society any closer to doing so today?
Sure, some states have legalized marijuana for medical use. Others have decried that enforcement against those who possess only enough for personal consumption will not be arrested, but there seems to be no heart to legalize the drug, set up a process for its sale, and to tax it.
A movement is afoot in California to legalize marijuana as a result of the state’s severe financial difficulties. Desperate times result in desperate measures. This is not the right motive for doing the right thing. However, states can do what they chose, as long as marijuana remains prohibited by the Federal Government, problems will persist. Like so many other issues, our elected officials exhibit pure cowardice in dealing with a controversial issue. There are plenty of special interest groups that will continue to stir up the sentiment against taking the bold step to do something right.
Legalize marijuana and get the high volume drug out of the black market and into the consumer market. How much will that reduce the amount of drug traffic and perhaps inhibit demand for harder drugs. Besides that, law enforcement and health authorities could then devote full energy to dealing with serious drug addiction.
It’s long past time for Americans to stop being hypocritical on this issue and support the right decision. The right decision is legalization of marijuana setting up a regulated, taxable market for its sale.
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