The American hypocrisy needs to discontinue. Today, like every other day, I did a Google/Yahoo search for key words in the news section. First I search for “Marc Emery”. When he was first arrested it was requested for the armchair activist if they could do just that, this keeps his name in the great algorithm in the sky and lets people know we care. Than I do several searches with the following words marijuana/marihuana/weed/pot. These searches show me the latest and greatest in real world terms and in the past three years I’ve been doing this have yet to see an article where marijuana was the sole catalyst of a crime, alcohol or some other drug is always involved.
Don’t get me wrong though, there are stupid stoners but I think even if they didn’t smoke they’d still make bad decisions. Like the kid that just recently texted the wrong number for some pot to the local sheriff or that dumb ass kid that posted a trade on Craigslist good weed for and Ipod . In an idea world you can fuck up like this but its not (yet), marijuana is still illegal so you have to treat it as so, never advertise.
Recently there was an article in the LA Times that got me bent out of shape. The sheriff for LA County (Sheriff Lee Baca) came out in a press conference against Prop. 19 pointing to a recent triple homicide which involved supposed medical marijuana. His point being see if you legalize it all the way, it will only get worse. This is purely speculative and bullshit. If we’re going to say things without proper facts I propose that once its legal there will be frolicking in the streets, free love for everyone, and people will be putting flowers in their hair.
While on his podium Sheriff Baca states “the industry has been taken over by drug dealers, thus the growing violence”. My question to him is “Who do you think was running it before?” This debate is getting old and tiresome. If you make something illegal you create a black market for it.
On the bright side, out of 70 comments only a couple were negative but still those negative comments have the same talking points; 1.“the amount of supposed tax revenue will NEVER come close to paying for the added rehab, traffic accidents and deaths caused by the passing of this law” — as I stated before in 3 years I have marijuana being the sole cause of a accident or death and in fact use may go down with teens thus less future rehabers 2. “is a gateway drug and keeps people from good thinking and making moral choices” — marijuana is not a gateway drug and as far as moral choices go, give me an example. For the past 3 years (up until the fourth of July) I smoked everyday during that time I contributed money to the homeless, donated my personal excess (clothes, electronics, toys for the kids) I have to shelters for abused women and volunteered at my kids school, all obviously immoral acts committed by me 3. “I guess it would be OK with the supporters of this law if a Cop or surgeon could take a few hits before going on duty or performing a procedure” — Umm I wouldn’t want them to have a drink either!
After dealing with the idiocy of Sheriff Baca article I found a video news story on marijuana. Before said story I had to view a commercial. This particular commercial was for a drug on some disease I’ve never heard of. This drug came with the side effect that it may give you the inability to pee. No matter how high I’ve gotten peeing was never an issue.
What is wrong with our society when you can take a pill for erectile dysfunction just add a disclaimer at the end of the commercial that if it lasts more than fours hours see a doctor and its okay but you can’t smoke a joint to relax or help with muscle aches. The recent cannabis commercial is a great stride but I think at the end it should have had one of those rolling disclaimers with a guy talking really fast on how cannabis: may increase your appetite, make you want to stay on the couch and play video games, creates strangers as friends, cause uncontrollable giggles, the list goes on but you get the point. A disclaimer would have made the ad more pharmacy legit.
When I first started writing this I was going to come off on how the conservatives are all fucked up and why can’t they see their arguments for the lies they are; but than it occurred to me, not everyone against marijuana is a Republican/Tea Party member/Christian/fill in the blank for a stereotype. In fact there are plenty of Republican/Tea Party/Christian/fill in the blank stereotype smokers out there. The ones who want it illegal are the ones that profit from it being a crime i.e. DEA, prison systems, and (believe it or not) drug dealers.
Even though we all don’t go to the same barbecue I think we can agree on a goal. I’ve said before I’m an unapologetic liberal but I also try to be a good human being. Hell we all try to be good human beings just with different ways of getting there. The point is we all need a rallying cry and I think “Legalize it” is it. Not everyone wants to listen to reggae, smoke, and work with the earth but we can all agree that the illegalization is wrong no matter how it got there.
The aforementioned Sheriff Baca is teaming up Californian Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein against Prop. 19. My question is why? These people act like they have crystal balls and the downfall of California than America is bound to happen. My crystal ball tells me the opposite. It tells me people (not criminals) in jail will be released and those assholes growing illegally in national forest with have true homegrown to contend with (let us not forget growing good pot isn’t just putting a seed into the soil; but nurturing, loving, and harvesting it in other words work).
My crystal ball also tells my tourism will flourish again in California while revenue county by county increases from licensing fees and taxes. America will be industrious again through California since hemp plantations can than be started up to compete against Canada, Indonesia, and every other industry nation.
The legalization of marijuana in California could perhaps be one the best things that happens to this nation and if the government interferes on this one there could be a bigger backlash than expected. All my life I’ve believed in the American dream and what its meant to so many people. The government not so much but the dream has been something ever changing and growing to so many people on different levels but fundamentally the same; To live with the right to pursue happiness without persecution, to worship (as I do with herb) without persecution, to live without persecution.
Till next write here’s a kick-ass pot documentary
