Drastic times call for intelligent measures

Reefer-Tax Madness

In the article above, the author sides with Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, who has introduced a bill that would decriminalize weed and regulate the sale and taxation of the plant in California. For the first time since Nixon started the War on Drugs, a state wants to fully legalize marijuana for recreational use. Unfortunately, the bill won't do much good on its own, as the federal government would have to decriminalize the plant as well, in order for California to be able to regulate the sales of it and tax the $1 billion dollar a year industry in an attempt to rejuvinate their struggling economy.

The author clearly thinks that the bill, AB 390, is a positive step. While the intended audience is obviously Californians, who are known for loving their high-grade medicinal marijuana already, the bill would essentially effect us all, given that the Obama administration is willing to reconsider the illegal status of weed. By publishing this piece in the LA Times, the audience becomes much larger than the state of Cali itself, and reaches out to those who might not be the most sympathetic readers when it comes to legalizing pot.

The author makes strong points, and I feel they are correct in their assessment of the issue. The majority of people in the US don't seem to be too worried about "Reefer Madness," despite the attempts of Anti-drug commercials and propaganda. According to recent polls, 72% of Americans have tried pot at least once, and we're no longer buying into the federal governments' smear campagin against it. In these tight times, why not legalize a basically harmless plant and tax the hell out of it? The marijuana industry is booming, bringing in billions of dollars a year, yet out of fear we allow these profits to go to drug dealers and gangs, instead of our hurt economy. Add in the fact that hemp would be legalized as a side-effect, and you have the overnight creation of two taxable cash-crops worth tens of billions of dollars.

So, should we forsake billions of potential dollars that could be pumped into our economy over unscientific scare tactics? Hell no. Why not take the opportunity to clean out our prisons of nonviolent offenders, crush pot-dealing gangs, and boost our economy? As we sit around and argue about whether or not there is any danger in smoking pot, we fail to realize that if nothing more, it is a documented medicine that when used recreationally is exponentially better for you than going downtown and getting hammered on beer and whiskey (not that I have anything against either).

Finally, the author states the most important part of the argument: the War on Drugs should be reexamined not because of this bill, but because it is morally sound. I don't like the idea of meth heads running around any more than you do, but in a free country we should be able to put what we want into our bodies so long as it doesn't harm anyone else. Legalizing marijuana is a good step, but legalizing all drugs is the right thing to do. We need to stop ruining people's lives over their choice in mind-altering substances. The benefits outweigh the potential dangers a million to one. In conclusion, this is a great article written by an intelligent author. If only more people would recognize the reality of the situation, we might be able to make our country a little bit better.