Well, the war on drugs is back. Since upper management of the United States never declared a cease-fire or offered to negotiate a peace treaty or terms of surrender, I would guess the war never really stopped. There was a kind of lull during the reign of the Ayatollah Obongo, but now that Grand Slam has taken up residence in the big white double-wide on Pennsylvania Avenue, the circus is back on the road again.
This is old news, of course. My reasoning is based on a "timely" article on the subject by Human Rights Watch (HRW), a site I sometimes read to alleviate boredom and to assure myself that no matter how bad things get here in Columbus, it could be worse. Browsing the Internet, I stumbled across this magnificent, ground shaking announcement: US Revives its Harmful Drug War by noteworthy journalist Jasmine L. Tyler, Advocacy Director, US Program, for HRW. I think she was tipped to this development by this article: Sessions to End Legal Marijuana Policy from Obama Era by Corky Siemaszko at NBC News.
From NBC:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions gave U.S. attorneys the green light Thursday to aggressively enforce federal laws against marijuana — even in states where pot is legal.
In doing so, Sessions reversed an Obama administration policy that shielded legalized marijuana from federal intervention and enabled the pot industry to flourish.
From HRW:
Last year, [US Attorney General Jeff] Sessions also reinvigorated the war on drugs by rescinding former Attorney General Eric Holder’s Smart on Crime guidance to keep low-level, nonviolent offenders out of prison, and repealed then-President Barack Obama’s 21st Century Policing practices, put in place to curb excessive drug law enforcement.
My own invaluable opinion is that if any adult in the United States wants to smoke a little pot in the privacy of his own living room (or any room in his own house), I don't care. Let him get a buzz on and relax a little. Not everyone feels this way, and I'm fine with that. So are most (in reality, probably all) pot smokers.
As usual, commercial news media misses the real point, as does non-profit HRW. Gun owners, if they stop and ponder this situation for a few minutes, will understand what the situation is really all about.
This isn't about the war on drugs, and it isn't about the evils of smoking the killer weed. It's about control. The Federal government, collectively, doesn't like the State government making its own decisions. The Federal government knows what's best for the States. No exceptions.
Since States are legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use without Federal approval, and since this is a form of independent thought, the process must be reined in sharply. Very sharply.
Eventually this could lead to the State governments asking a few embarrassing questions about where all that Federal tax money is being spent, and why. And we all know that can't end well.
Like gun control (which isn't about guns), this is about control. It's all about controlling an industry that doesn't need much control or regulation, in favor of regulating a few industries that cannot possibly be over-regulated. The banking industry, for instance. The insurance industry is another.
Get a clue, news media.
The State of Colorado recently legalized recreational marijuana use. Since then we, the Great Unwashed, haven't heard much about the marijuana issue from Colorado. If you believe the hysterical opinions published as gospel truth by the opponents of recreational pot use, this is because the right thinking populace have all been killed off by psychotic hippies who are high on pot. I see a reassuring parallel between this and the frantic howls of the anti-freedom moonbats when Ohio passed the first CCW law. The entire State of Ohio would become a DMZ, and the US Army would have to be called in to restore order, and... nothing. You could hear the crickets.
Since Ohio is largely governed by a group of pulpit-pounding apostates opposed by egotistical, pseudo-benevolent would-be dictators, marijuana is illegal. Hence we, the mere citizens, won't get all that nice tax money for schools and infrastructure. Like Colorado is getting.
Since the amount of money rolling into the old tax coffers is significant, I think this effort by the Federal government to save us from ourselves will probably fail. I also think a lot of people will be unfairly incarcerated on drug charges that they don't deserve.
I hope the residents of Colorado enjoy the influx of money.
4 comments:
I would have to say this is one issue that is best fought by those who have a passionate opinion one way or another. Like anything else (see"alcohol", "prescription drugs" "otc medications"), I have seen good reactions and bad reactions. Me? My lungs can't take it like they used to (er, would ahve taken if I had, indeed, used it, which I can neither confirm or deny...)so I really don't care.
Don't care either... But I'm glad they aren't as prevalent on the roads here as they are in Colorado.
Which is about the size of it. I believe (through the results of an unscientific survey) that most people (reasonable, educated adults) don't care. So long as you don't get all screwed up and play with your gun collection or drive your car, what the hell?
It isn't about control, Jack. Not one iota.
It's about MONEY. Control is tertiary to that. All that money in the drug trade means power - enough that the guys that control that are powerful enough to challenge every legitimate power broker in all branches of gubbimint. They do it in Mexico and they've been doing it here for a long, long time. Because we live in an affluent first world country we have been able to sweep the social consequences under the carpet.
We have legal weed up here in Canada and I dunno what to think of it. Our useless fag of a prime minister thinks he can regulate the pot trade and I don't see how when every second dummy can grow better stuff himself at home for much less than the gov't can sell it for.
I've never done weed. Oh sure I took a polite toke when it came around at parties in high school, but other than that it never held any attraction for me. I have better things to do with my time and money, myself. By the same token, I can't be bothered worrying about recreational users either.
But make no mistake, this shit is not a harmless weed. It's going to get a lot of kids in trouble and no bones about it. I've seen it.
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