A Dubious Pot Proposition

My first instinct was to write this anonymously; there is no telling when the marijuana issue will flip back as mass deportations of Mexican immigrants historically have. It’s always hard to have an educated public discussion about anything when differing sides have an agenda with a bottom line and public discussions might jeopardize that bottom line. I’d like to see America quit jailing poor people for marijuana, but I’m not in love with a big corporate marijuana industry with regulations and rules, most of which will be to protect the corporations’ profits. The community I’m part of doesn’t permit dispensaries; it’s had a system for the past 50-60 years that works fine. When someone in the community is sick and needs help, they get it, and if need be it’s free.

The sheriff is concerned that the advertising will lead our children to a life of pot zombies. When my daughter was a high school sophomore (she’s a 33-year-old wife, mother, and business owner now), I read an article about a survey that found at least 50 percent of high school students smoked pot and 15 percent of junior high schoolers. I asked her if that was true. She rolled her eyes at me and said, “Dad, everyone smokes pot.” Ronnie’s war on marijuana was lost before it ever began, but I don’t know if legalizing it and giving it to corporate greed is something I can vote for either. One thing I think would help is if all the invested parties sat down, gave up their bottom line, and had an informed open discussion about it … soon.

FYI: I don’t use anything. My high is that early morning deep full breath of fresh air, my normal today, but once-a-upon-a-time my normal sucked and I would do anything to escape it. Maybe the issue isn’t the pot, but what’s missing in people’s normal. But if pot helps them, it’s a hell of a lot better than what our civilization has thus far legalized for them.