Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Our next governor, Phil Murphy, has pledged to place the legalization of recreational marijuana on a grease-wheeled, non-stop train to the Promised Land.
Once accomplished, jubilation shall ring across the land. Budgets will be balanced. Schools will hum to the tune of platinum-plated laptops. Roads will be paved with gold. Criminals will be decriminalized. And, in these jittery times, we'll all get just a little mellower.
Or so the euphoria goes.
This same siren melody played way back in the 1970s, when legalized casino gambling seemed to usher in a new era of wealth, glad tidings and plenty. Well, that boat wrecked on the breakers at Atlantic City, and I have a feeling that we're in for a disappointing sequel.
This is no diatribe against the ills of the demon weed. Personally, I don't need any "substance" -- leafy, chemical, alcoholic or otherwise -- to relax, but I won't begrudge my fellow citizens a hazy puff to ease the nerves as needed.
But, please don't mask this eager lunge toward legalization in any lofty language. This is no triumph of legal rights. Nor is it some celebration of personal freedom to be lauded in tweets and blogs. At best, legalization is a pragmatic recognition of a basic human frailty -- one that we have not been able to evolve beyond.
In short: People simply want to get high.
Oh, and don't wave the benefits of medical marijuana at me. The medical use of the luscious leaf should always have been legal and its application will always be a tiny fraction of its overall use.
Same for the war on drugs. Granted it has been a catastrophic failure for many reasons (We've been in Afghanistan with an army for over a dozen years, for goodness sake, and the poppies still merrily grow along.) So, we'll see a few less marijuana possession arrests. But do you really think that drug dealers will confine themselves to what is now legal? Nope, they'll just have a little more wiggle room.
Legalization is largely about the right to get high. What's so bad about that? Potentially, quite a bit. Ask yourself these questions:
* Will high school students feel more or less inhibited from trying a puff once legalization passes? Rationalization is so easy!
* Will there be more or fewer arrests of people driving erratically while smoking a joint?
* Is inhaling smoke into your lungs (whether from a cigar, a cigarette or a joint) in any way something that you would call a good idea?
* Would you rather have your bus driven by someone who just smoked a cigarette or had a few puffs of Mary Jane?
* At root, what is the difference between being addicted and just wanting one more hit?
* Will people be more likely to want to step up to a more potent drug when marijuana starts to lose it appeal? (Yes, this is the old "gateway drug" argument. I think it is worth a fresh look in this new environment.)
* Do you want another government bureaucracy to be born -- one to regulate the growth, distribution and use of marijuana?
Perhaps none of these questions matter to you. After all, there will always be a set percentage of people who go too far with booze, cigarettes and drugs. The results typically manifest themselves in crime -- abuse, car accidents, robbery, all the usual suspects. Will the injection of legal marijuana into this basic equation increase their numbers? Hard to tell. We can't really use the experiences of other countries as a measuring stick. There is a rebel streak in the American character that is about to get a boost from some Acapulco Gold.
Personally, I am looking forward to the Madison Avenue-ing of marijuana. Will there be a weedy version of the famous Marlboro Man? Retail centers with names like "It's High Time You Were Here" or "Puff the Magic Drag-On? That, at least, will be amusing.
But, I kid and this is serious. We are embarking on a strange and winding road that I don't think we have fully mapped out. Let's take off those rose-colored glasses and really examine what we are about to set in motion. Are halcyon days ahead, or will it be just another woozy dawn in a bed stained with stale corn chips and spilled diet soda?
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Legal marijuana in N.J.! Hip, Hip, ... Hurrah? | Opinion | NJ.com
Author: James Terminiello
Contact: Contact Us information, user services and more on NJ.com | NJ.com Community -
Photo Credit: Bloomberg
Website: New Jersey Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - NJ.com
Once accomplished, jubilation shall ring across the land. Budgets will be balanced. Schools will hum to the tune of platinum-plated laptops. Roads will be paved with gold. Criminals will be decriminalized. And, in these jittery times, we'll all get just a little mellower.
Or so the euphoria goes.
This same siren melody played way back in the 1970s, when legalized casino gambling seemed to usher in a new era of wealth, glad tidings and plenty. Well, that boat wrecked on the breakers at Atlantic City, and I have a feeling that we're in for a disappointing sequel.
This is no diatribe against the ills of the demon weed. Personally, I don't need any "substance" -- leafy, chemical, alcoholic or otherwise -- to relax, but I won't begrudge my fellow citizens a hazy puff to ease the nerves as needed.
But, please don't mask this eager lunge toward legalization in any lofty language. This is no triumph of legal rights. Nor is it some celebration of personal freedom to be lauded in tweets and blogs. At best, legalization is a pragmatic recognition of a basic human frailty -- one that we have not been able to evolve beyond.
In short: People simply want to get high.
Oh, and don't wave the benefits of medical marijuana at me. The medical use of the luscious leaf should always have been legal and its application will always be a tiny fraction of its overall use.
Same for the war on drugs. Granted it has been a catastrophic failure for many reasons (We've been in Afghanistan with an army for over a dozen years, for goodness sake, and the poppies still merrily grow along.) So, we'll see a few less marijuana possession arrests. But do you really think that drug dealers will confine themselves to what is now legal? Nope, they'll just have a little more wiggle room.
Legalization is largely about the right to get high. What's so bad about that? Potentially, quite a bit. Ask yourself these questions:
* Will high school students feel more or less inhibited from trying a puff once legalization passes? Rationalization is so easy!
* Will there be more or fewer arrests of people driving erratically while smoking a joint?
* Is inhaling smoke into your lungs (whether from a cigar, a cigarette or a joint) in any way something that you would call a good idea?
* Would you rather have your bus driven by someone who just smoked a cigarette or had a few puffs of Mary Jane?
* At root, what is the difference between being addicted and just wanting one more hit?
* Will people be more likely to want to step up to a more potent drug when marijuana starts to lose it appeal? (Yes, this is the old "gateway drug" argument. I think it is worth a fresh look in this new environment.)
* Do you want another government bureaucracy to be born -- one to regulate the growth, distribution and use of marijuana?
Perhaps none of these questions matter to you. After all, there will always be a set percentage of people who go too far with booze, cigarettes and drugs. The results typically manifest themselves in crime -- abuse, car accidents, robbery, all the usual suspects. Will the injection of legal marijuana into this basic equation increase their numbers? Hard to tell. We can't really use the experiences of other countries as a measuring stick. There is a rebel streak in the American character that is about to get a boost from some Acapulco Gold.
Personally, I am looking forward to the Madison Avenue-ing of marijuana. Will there be a weedy version of the famous Marlboro Man? Retail centers with names like "It's High Time You Were Here" or "Puff the Magic Drag-On? That, at least, will be amusing.
But, I kid and this is serious. We are embarking on a strange and winding road that I don't think we have fully mapped out. Let's take off those rose-colored glasses and really examine what we are about to set in motion. Are halcyon days ahead, or will it be just another woozy dawn in a bed stained with stale corn chips and spilled diet soda?
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Legal marijuana in N.J.! Hip, Hip, ... Hurrah? | Opinion | NJ.com
Author: James Terminiello
Contact: Contact Us information, user services and more on NJ.com | NJ.com Community -
Photo Credit: Bloomberg
Website: New Jersey Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - NJ.com
