For some strange reason (strange not because I do not know the reason, but strange because it involves an assistant rodent who works for the Office of Moose and Squirrel) the subject of marijuana has been on my mind a lot for the last two weeks.
No, reasoned arguments will never work. And it is long past the time for change to come from an enlightened electorate. Let’s face the truth: repeal of marijuana laws is not likely to happen from simply waiting for politicians to change the laws.
Our last three presidents have admitted to using marijuana. I presume that these men are grateful they were not arrested for possession. I would even assume that a sizeable portion of the country is grateful they were not arrested. And it would not be an unreasonable assumption to believe that a large portion of the electorate believes that the country is better off without their having been arrested.
If these men had been arrested, their political careers would never have begun. Arrests could have meant long jail terms, would have barred entry into the Armed Services, possibly caused a loss of scholarships or entry into some schools, (and certainly would have destroyed political careers). And these men, who must be aware of all of this, have done absolutely nothing to change the drug laws. America arrested over a million people for marijuana last year. Without an arrest, perhaps one of that million might have risen to the presidency.
It would be somewhat pleasing to stop there, leaving the blame with the government, but the blame lies with all of us. There is just no denying that the sixties were roughly 50 years ago. That whole generation is about to be on Social Security, and perhaps it is about time to stop talking about the past and wake up to the here and now. My generation was going to change everything, make a new world. It is too late to apologize for disco, and I doubt we can still change those marijuana laws without leadership.
Laws criminalizing the possession and use of marijuana are all but repealed now. Already 15 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. This means that cannabis is restricted to only those who can manage to say A-N-X-I-E-T-Y. A dozen more states have legislation pending, but this is not enough. This country should repeal all laws criminalizing marijuana now.
Every year on April 20, there is a call for all of America to light up a joint and defy the police to arrest all of us. This will never happen; most of us have far too much to lose to take this large a risk. But what would happen if all of us applied for a prescription for medical marijuana? Such a prescription can’t be that hard to acquire, since, in just the last two weeks, three different people have sent me the name of medical practitioners in the area who can "help" me. And I’m not even that anxious.
When alcohol prohibition, the Volkstead Act, passed in 1919, the law was widely violated. President Warren G. Harding simply ignored the law; he kept a well-stocked liquor cabinet in the White House. President Hoover thought about pushing for a repeal, but he was a little busy with other matters. Franklin D. Roosevelt tackled the job head on. Believing that Americans deserved a break, if not a drink, because of the depression, FDR asked Congress for a repeal on the ban on the sale of beer within days of his inauguration and Prohibition in general ended during his first year in office with the 21st Amendment.
Would it be too much to ask for a presidential candidate to embrace the issue of legalization of marijuana?
I think congress would make better decisions if they hot boxed in the house.
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