Nearly a century after Utah became the second state to outlaw marijuana it is again a prudish—and many say foolish—outlier in the West in regards to marijuana prohibition. Columnist John Rasmussen pondered the hypocrisy of politicians who say they want states' rights to be dominant over the federal government—except when it comes to weed [see “Going to Pot,” City Weekly, Aug. 26].
Online commenters, however, debated the medical benefits and side effects.
“I don't worry about all the sick people smoking pot to ease their pain, because they don't exist,” wrote Bandarji. “My daughter goes to school in Colorado, she is amazed by all the healthy but pale looking students holding medical marijoowanna [sic] cards.”
Bandarji, you're an idiot! What are digestive disorders, chronic pain, anxiety and insomnia supposed look like in your world? And “pale” marijuana users? WTF?
“There is now an entire industry built around cannabis prohibition, an industry that robs us all of our right to privacy,” wrote Swooper, complaining about rehab for marijuana abuse is over prescribed and a punishment too tedious to fit the crime.
BlackMamba agreed, referring to a local court-ordered marijuana counseling program as “12-Step-On-Steroids,” that costs $3,500 for “30 days of worthless meetings.”
$113 billion is spent on marijuana every year in the U.S., and because of the prohibition *every* dollar of it goes straight into the hands of criminals. Far from preventing people from using marijuana, the prohibition instead creates zero legal supply amid massive and unrelenting demand.
According to the ONDCP, at least sixty percent of Mexican drug cartel money comes from selling marijuana in the U.S., they protect this revenue by brutally torturing, murdering and dismembering thousands of innocent people.
If we can STOP people using marijuana then we need to do so NOW, but if we can't then we need to legalize the production and sale of marijuana to adults with after-tax prices set too low for the cartels to match. One way or another, we have to force the cartels out of the marijuana market and eliminate their highly lucrative marijuana incomes - no business can withstand the loss of sixty percent of its revenue!
To date, the cartels have amassed more than 100,000 "foot soldiers" and operate in 230 U.S. cities, and the longer they're able to exploit the prohibition the more powerful they get and the more our own personal security is put at risk.