Will Obama Legalize Marijuana?
Dec 24, 2008 Political
Esquire has an article indicating that Barack Obama might legalize marijuana. This is big news for the bong toting left and a major concern among the youth in this country. On his transparent and open ask Obama site (the one where all questions about the Illinois scandal were deleted) the youth asked about legalizing the potent vegetation. The answer was that Obama is opposed to legalizing the drug which surprises me considering how much he enjoyed using it as a young man. He has indicated that he wants to decriminalize it but that is a matter of how to treat people from a legal standpoint.
I am not actually opposed to legalizing marijuana as a matter of principle. I have never used it and would not if it were legal but I find no difference between the effects of marijuana and the effects of alcohol. As a matter of health marijuana is far more harmful in a shorter period especially to the brain and lungs but alcohol is destructive to the liver and brain over the long term. Long term marijuana use has also been shown to cause mental health problems. Any drug that is abused will present a problem.
Legalizing marijuana and allowing the government to heavily tax it will bring a great deal of revenue to the treasury. If we could get politicians to use it wisely then it would be beneficial to the economy. I am sure there would be many jobs opened if farmers could grow marijuana and I bet we would have enough Americans willing to work the jobs that illegals would not have to pick weed.
There are quite a few problems that would need to be addressed. What kind of quality control would be involved in the process of growing and preparing the stuff for use? Where would it be sold and how could we control it so that it is not sold or redistributed to minors? What security measures would be required at farms to keep stoners from stealing the crop? Would Americans be able to grow their own and how much?
If we end up legalizing the drug it should be expensive and heavily taxed (revenues that will be lost if people can grow their own) so that it will not be easily available. There should be draconian penalties for those who do anything illegal with it like driving under the influence or distributing it to minors. People who are caught growing their own (or more than is allowed) should have to pay an amount equal to the taxes on whatever quantity they produce plus a substantial fine. Those who engage in illegal trafficking should receive jail time. Employers should be able to dictate whether their employees may use the substance regardless of when. In other words, airlines, the military, police departments and such can say their employees are not allowed to use marijuana.
There are many problems that are associated with legalizing marijuana but careful and thoughtful legislation (something Congress knows nothing about) could remedy those problems. Many problems will be difficult to address. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive component of marijuana and it is fat soluble so it stays in the body for quite some time. THC is present long after the effect of marijuana has passed so people who are tested will come back positive even if they have not used it for a while. If a bus driver (or some guy in a car) has an accident and is tested he will be positive and the level might be high depending upon when he last used. How could anyone tell if he was high at the time of the accident? This is a major issue that will fill the courts with lawsuits. If that bus drive was not high but tested positive after the accident and people are injured or killed then it is a safe bet there will be plenty of lawsuits. Many employers test employees after a work related accident. If the person is positive (for any drug) they are usually terminated. How will this be resolved if marijuana is legal?
There are also issues of health. What are the long term health effects of marijuana use? Decreased brain function, lack of energy and lack of motivation are common in long term use as are severe lung ailments and brain dysfunction. If only those who use it illegally now continued then the demand on the health care system would not change but assuming that more people would use it if it were legal, how will the increase effect the health care system?
These and any number of other issues need to be addressed before we can legalize the drug. I am personally not opposed to it because I think we can tax it and make money and because it is, in my mind, not very different from the use of alcohol. I would not use it but as long as the issues are addressed I see no reason why others should not be able to if they so desire. However, I would not lose sleep if they never made it legal.
I am a bit concerned because there will be even more bong toting, Kos reading, Kool Aid drinking liberals getting stoned and I don’t know how many more of them the welfare system will support. Besides, we are now dealing with the burnt out liberals of the 60s and I don’t know if we need even more of them around in 20 or 30 years.
There is one other condition that needs to be met before we ever legalize the drug. Every state in the union must become a shall issue state for people who want to carry a firearm (those legally allowed) and that includes every jurisdiction in each state. If we make it legal to use a drug that is not addressed in the Constitution then we need to ensure the citizens in this country are allowed to freely exercise a right that is clearly enumerated in it.
Come to think of it, we need to do that whether marijuana is legalized of not.
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Tags: alcohol, drug abuse, drugs, marijuana, Obama, pot, Second Amendment, stoner, weed