Up until now, I written mainly about people in the 2008 elections like the Democrats (who did very well), but in some places there were other things on the ballot. It looks like the leafy green herb commonly known as marijuana also did pretty well in these elections.
Question #2 on the ballot in Massachusetts would "Remove the threat of arrest or jail for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana, replacing it with a $100 fine, which could be paid through the mail without lawyers or court appearances, just like a speeding ticket." The measure did quite well, passing in the state by a 65% to 35% margin.
Michigan's Proposal #1 also passed by nearly as large a margin. By a 63% to 37% vote, the people approved the measure to " Permit terminally and seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana with their doctors' approval."
In California, a proposal was defeated by 30% to 70% which would "require the expulsion from public housing of anyone convicted of a recent drug offense." There were also measures in Fayetteville (Arkansas) and Hawaii County (Hawaii) that passed. These measures "Require adult marijuana possession laws to be the lowest priority for local law enforcement." The Arkansas measure passed by 66% to 34% and the Hawaii measure passed by 58% to 42%.
Medical marijuana users also came out ahead with the election of Barack Obama. The Bush administration has been trying to prosecute medical marijuana users who are obeying their own state laws. Obama has said his administration would not try to arrest those with a legitimate prescription from a doctor and are obeying their state law.
Bit by bit and state by state, marijuana use is slowly being decriminalized. And it's about time. Marijuana is one of the least harmful drugs in existence, and recreational or medical users should not be punished. In fact in this poor economy, our country could use a new cash crop and our government could use the enormous amount in tax money that legal marijuana would bring in.
Marijuana prohibition makes no more sense than alcohol prohibition did. It's time to end it.
You know ... I'm just not sure what I think about legalizing marijuana. All I know right now is that the drug of choice for every prisoner I work with is weed (and that's not what they are in for).
ReplyDeleteI'm certainly great with the medicinal purposes. I just wonder ... really ... what would we look like with legalized marijuana? Someone make an argument for it. I have no idea, truly.