Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. has been around in Maryland politics a long, long time. When he speaks, a lot of people listen. That’s whey it was signficant when, in an interview Friday, he stated that he would support legislation that would legalize marijuana in Maryland.
“I favor the legalization and taxation of marijuana, with restrictions,” Miller said, according to the Washington Post. “I know where people are going to be a generation or two from now.”
It’s always refreshing when a politician is on the right side of history. For so long it was considered to be political suicide to come out in support of marijuana legalization. But the winds of change have been strong for quite awhile now, and after ‘on-the-fence politicians’ see how much love pro-marijuana politicians get, more and more of them will do the right thing.
Another big factor for swaying politicians, as always seems to be the case, is money. Colorado is making a lot of money right now, and will make more as all the shops that have licenses open up to customers. Then Washington will start making a lot of money too once they roll out stores, then other states, and on and on. Politicians can deny a lot of things, but one thing they rarely deny is dollars.
That’s not to say that marijuana legalization is inevitable in Maryland just because one Senator expressed his support. In the same article was another quote from the Maryland House Speaker, who feels that clinging to delay tactics is a better strategy than doing what’s right.
“The whole idea of transitioning into a recreational use of marijuana, I think, needs quite a bit more discussion and debate and understanding of what the practical implications would be,” House Speaker Michael E. Busch said. I can’t wait until politicians like Mr. Busch go the way of the dinosaur. Throwing around generic statements about marijuana are no longer accepted in today’s politics. What specifically are you waiting for Mr. Busch? What is there left to debate?
