Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 839
. . .
12/22/2017 at 11:33 AM
I am glad that we as a nation are finally moving in the right direction on this front, even if the details are still a bit shaky.
I sense a big part of this is misinformation and fear. Something I can understand. Growing up, I was essentially a little Jeff Sessions. It was not until I turned 18 that I realized all was not as it seems on the PoT front. And that my educators either didn't know what they were talking about or were liers.
Good to see this finally going ahead. Despite not using for years, I have always been a proponent. As I am with any common sense legislation.
As for the towns and municipalities that may be considering opting out of this brave new world, some things to consider:
1.) As a rule, it is easier to govern the distribution of substances if they are obtained from legally accountable sources. Sellers of liquor and tobacco tend to not make sales to minors as a rule because the fines are very prohibitive.
I know this, having worked in a C-store and been one of few that never get slapped with one. I''''''''''''''''ve ticked some off in my day, but 10 or 15 bucks (or $500 or more) in the long term) still pales to the thousands of a fine.
THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
No law will guarantee the young no access to prohibited substances. But that is not the goal of this. If that were the standard that we held all legislation to, then may as well just repeal everything and go Anarchist. Give the libertarians and anarchists (an-caps to!) a taste of their worldview as played out in the reality of the flawed human condition.
2.) While this one is low hanging fruit (in terms of arguments), one REALLY should take into consideration all other intoxicants available on the market before writing off marijuana. Pretty much all of which (including the lowest on the ladder, caffeine) have much more addiction potential and otherwise toxicity.
This is not to say that it is merely a harmless herb. I hate when people use that argument. While marijuana is relatively benign IN CONTRAST to most everything else, harmless is not a good word for it.
Last year (or maybe early this year) Marketplace did a show covering modern day marijuana, how the bud of today is generally a very different beast than it was even a few decades ago. Much higher potency than before, and much less (if any at all!) CBD. A cannabinoid known to counteract some of the more paranoid hallucinations of its partner THC (forgive me if I butchered that).
We need to know what these things could be doing to minds. But at the same time, one has to be careful not to use fear or scaremongering.
More education all around is a good thing.
3.) Marijuana is around, and has always been around, and will always be around. So one can either leave things as they are and keep losing out on the millions and billions of potential revenue for all levels of governance, or step in and throw in some regulations just to keep things smooth.
In all honesty, I am of the opinion that all drugs should be legalized (or at minimum, decriminalized). Indeed, that is WAY outside of the overton window of this area at the moment. However, I hear it increasingly raised in places hard hit by the fentanyl epidemic (particularly out west). And there is at least one test case of positive results.
It is less about promotion (or even acceptance) of drug useage than it is about prioritizing rehabilitation.
But one thing at a time.
Edited by Simonwalcal, 2017-12-22 11:41:20