Is Obama a hypocrite when it comes to marijuana? What is the point of having laws that are not enforced? Is smoking weed a victimless crime?
These are the questions addressed by Glenn Beck in this interview with Andrez Rosental, the former Foreign Minister of Mexico. We seem to have undergone a 180 degree turn in legislative attitude; but have we really? From Bush and his refusal to legalize marijuana to Obama and his decision to leave the laws as they are but not enforce them in just one, quick and easy step. The result is: no change at all.
What is truly worrying is the move back towards to the violence and organised crime that was so characterisic of the US prohibition of alcohol. During the 1920’s and early 30’s, when the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned but little was done to enforce the law. Consequently, the illegal production and distribution of liquor became rampant and a profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol flourished. Organized criminal gangs corrupted law enforcement agencies, leading to racketeering and stronger liquor surged in popularity because was more profitable. Ringing any bells yet?
The truth is, the rerun of those days has already begun, with deaths from drug violence in Mexico doubling between 2007 and 2008. Mexican cartels currently sell $13.8 billion worth of drugs into the US each year, $8 billion of which comes from marijuana alone.
As Beck so lyrically puts it – it really is time to crap or get off the pot.
Kat,
I understand what you are saying but consider the fact that the reason the people you have spoken to started on pot because it was the most readily available to them than Coke, Crack or Heroin.
More people will sell pot because there is a smaller penalty then the others if you get caught dealing it and it is so readily available because of the sources of supply. That alone makes it the first drug people will try outside of alcohol really being the first but since it is illegal it is not included in the group.
Did you ever think that if marijuana wasn’t grouped in the category with harder drugs that people wouldn’t get the confidence to try something like cocaine?
If you group it with cigarettes and alcohol (even though alcohol is probably the worst drug of them all), wouldn’t people be less likely to try illegal drugs after smoking legal marijuana?
This legalizing seems such a bad idea to me. I don’t want anybody suffering with cancer or another illness that marijuana can help with the pain, but surely there is another way to get it to that person without legalizing it. I work at a drug rehab and trust me on how many people have said that marijuana was got them “not” afraid to experiment with other drugs be it prescription or illicit. This just seems all bad to me.