Posted by
Playful Walrus on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 12:15:12 PM
California Governor Schwarzenegger has mentioned that the time may be right to debate marijuana legalization. In California, marijuana use is legal as medicine, and recently the federal government has publicly backed off prosecutions in this area.
Let's get real.
Full disclosure:
1. I've never tried pot. I didn't see the point. Isn't thinking clearly hard enough these days without using mind-altering substances? And if you really need to loosen up, what's wrong with wine?
2. I have known many people who have "tried" pot, and many of them have regularly smoked pot... for many years, and I've been able to observe their behavior over the years.
3. As demonstrated numerous times in this blog, I'm generally for personal liberty and limited government.
4. I want to keep reality in mind when dealing with issues. I do not believe in overstating a case, as that destroys credibility. Example: If you tell me that "reading" Playboy will lead to rape, then you shouldn't be taken seriously. (I especially find it funny when someone says this and also recounts finding the magazine in her father's possession. Was her father a rapist?)
With that in mind, let's take an honest look at the situation.
Legalizing pot will not solve court/prison overcrowding problems. Yes, it will likely mean that some people will not be put into the court/prison system, because they run afoul of the law only because of pot. But really, how many people fall into this category – having not committed any other crimes? This would also be true if we legalized murder - though I do not equate selling pot and murder. We could empty our prisons by striking most laws from the books. We'll still have plenty of criminals to deal with even if pot is legal. Whether or not pot should be legalized shouldn't hinge on whether or not it will be easier on this system.
Taxing pot will not solve our budget problems. It might help, but spending is likely to increase as revenues increase, in a way that will make spending reductions (or, reductions in planned increases) politically difficult when revenues decline. All of the other "sin" taxes, "Indian gaming", and lotteries have not prevented states such as California from facing deficits.
Taxing pot too much will perpetuate a black market. This has been seen with tobacco.
Pot growers/distributors will not all suddenly become nonviolent, law-abiding, upstanding businesspeople upon pot legalization. These people are growing pot in state and federal parkland, inside suburban homes dedicated entirely to growing pot, etc. Many of these people are involved because it is a black market activity, rather than being outlaws solely because of their love of growing and selling pot. They aren't used to dealing with numerous local, state, and federal regulations involved in running a business, employing people, and growing/selling a crop or drug. Rather than a reduction in other crimes, we actually may see an increase as these people move on to other, more serious black market activities.
Legalizing pot will not solve our environmental problems by replacing petroleum. It just isn't going to happen. it may help a little, and if so, then good.
Sitting in a basement and smoking a joint isn't going to kill you, but regularly smoking pot will likely have negative effects in your life. It may very well make you a Leftist blogger. There are more productive and healthy things you could be doing with yourself. Unless you find it to be the best medical treatment, you are probably better off not using it.
Many of the same problems society perceives and tries to address in regard to tobacco will also be present with marijuana. They are both leaves. Also, if people think this will create jobs in America but not elsewhere, they are fooling themselves. Most likely, most commercial pot would be grown outside the U.S. and shipped in.
Prohibition does reduce consumption. Alcohol drinking per capita in this country didn't return to pre-Prohibition levels until the 1970s. This, however, does not address whether or not pot distribution/use should be prohibited.
With all of this in mind, people like me are more likely to be indifferent of even supportive of pot legalization if we are able to exercise our rights to:
1. Hold people accountable for their behavior (like being able to sue them if they crash into us because they were driving while impaired).
2. Not pay for someone else's medical treatment. You ruin your lungs smoking pot? Don't expect me to pay.
3. Rent to or evict people from our property (including pot users).
4. Hire, fire, promote, or demote an employee (including pot users).
5. Not to insure pot users.
In Conclusion...
If I don't have a right to use my property or run my business the way I want, or pay only for medical treatments as I choose, then you don’t have a right to use pot. Support my liberty, and I will support yours. Otherwise, it is no concern of mine if you want to blunt your thinking and abuse your lungs. I don't buy the alarmism that all pot use leads to harder drugs and a bad life, nor do I buy the utopian promises of potheads who call for legalization. One of the problems with illegal drug use is that it supports nasties like Mexican drug cartels and terrorists. Whether or not legalization would change that doesn't negate the fact that casual drug use currently supports those nasties, and thus is immoral.