A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Let's get the personal out of the way: I've never consumed marijuana in any form. Not only have I never inhaled it, I've never even touched a joint in passing (just wait ... there's more of these double entendres). Never eaten a "special" brownie. I've hardly ever even been in a room where it was smoked, and I came of age in the 70s and 80s!
The closest I ever came to smoking anything was when I rolled up a small piece of legal pad paper and thought about "smoking" it while blowing the illicit (har!) smoke up the incinerator chimney (remember those? they're illegal now.), at about age 12. This was an attempt to show some creativity I rather obviously lacked in rebelling against my parents. I was the last of seven kids and by then, my parents had apparently exhausted the "rebel" gene.
But, yeah, I voted for legalizing marijuana in Colorado (by the way, I'm not the only SoCon I know who did so). I thought about abstaining (from voting) on the issue, but I reasoned my way to a "yea," as follows.
1. As a matter of justice: It seems fundamentally unfair to me that people caught in possession of marijuana serve any jail time alongside criminals (e.g., thieves) and violent offenders. The guy who downs a few too many beers while sitting on his sofa taking in the Broncos game is no more deserving of such treatment than the 18-year-old getting high on his dime bag over the weekend. It's just not right.
2. I believe in forgiveness: I believe in it so much thatI don't even want women who procure an abortion to be legally punished, although I believe the evil committed in abortion is very grave indeed. The young adult looking for recreational use of a mind-altering substance can hardly be accused of committing a grave evil. He should not have his life and record irrevocably stained by such a minor infraction. Which leads me to...
3. The piety imposed by my generation of law enforcement and prosecutors is disgusting: C'mon. The 50-year-old prosecutor putting the 25-year-old in jail for growing marijuana in his basement has never gotten high? Doubtful.
4. Marijuana users are less likely to endanger others than alcohol users. There's a bevy of bad behaviors that (a) go along with alcohol consumption and (b) are much less prevalent among marijuana users, including domestic violence and driving while intoxicated. I have it firsthand from former marijuana users that the effects of getting high are more likely to lead to a characteristic passivity and slight paranoia about one's ability to function, which, for instance, makes one less inclined to get behind the wheel.
I'm a conservative. I understand life is a series of trade-offs. Despite the serious behavior problems (and even deaths!) which come along with alcohol consumption, I don't want to make it illegal. Marijuana is even less of a concern. But, even more importantly...
5. We need a better method for tackling the gateway drug issue: This is what decided it for me. A good friend who struggled with addiction problems throughout her young adulthood explained to me how legalizing marijuana might end its use as a gateway drug. The drug dealer is never satisfied to have his customers using marijuana. He's a businessman and he's looking to increase his margins. He does this by lacing his marijuana with more addictive substances. His customer unwittingly buys a bag of laced marijuana, and ends up addicted to crack (I'm making up this example, as I have no real knowledge of the drug culture). You've never heard of anyone picking up a fifth at the liquor store and consequently ending up addicted to meth, have you? If we regulate and tax pot (reasonably, so as to avoid creating a black market), there's no reason we can't close the gateway. Inspect the product. Tax it enough to cover the costs of paying for the inspectors. The pot dispensary is no more a problem than the liquor store. Done.
As I say, I'm a social conservative. But, on this issue, I've been convinced to take the libertarian position. I don't think there's anything good about marijuana consumption (I don't buy the medicinal efficacy argument). But I'm also strongly opposed to the idea that virtue can be coerced.
If, as a society, we fail to convince people that marijuana consumption is stupid, and even brain-damaging in the long run, this is one case where I think we can afford to suffer the natural consequences. And we might even decrease injustice and make progress against the drug culture.
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Comments:
Jun '10
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
WC: My natural inclinations probably would have led me to vote against, but you make a well-reasoned case.
I will say that in the vast constellation of issues facing the nation, this one (yea or nay) isn't very high on my priority list.
But if we legalize pot, the government should keep its mitts off our Big Gulps and transfats. There is a certain irony that at the same time that some states are legalizing pot, in other places, big soft drinks and Ding Dongs are falling into the regulatory clutches of big government.
Edited on December 13, 2012 at 9:50pmJul '11
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Well put. There are medical benefits although I suspect very few users hit it for those reasons.
Oct '10
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
And a great example of what Fred Cole posted on earlier.
http://ricochet.com/member-feed/Understanding-The-Other-Guy-s-Point-Of-View
A conservative can be persuaded to accept a libertarian public policy position, without necessarily accepting the main libertarian argument for it. And vice versa.
Edited on December 13, 2012 at 10:00pmMar '11
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Welcome to the slippery dark slope, comrade!
Western Chauvinist:
There's a bevy of bad behaviors which go along with alcohol consumption which are much less prevalent among marijuana users, including domestic violence and driving while intoxicated. .... I'm a conservative. I understand life is a series of trade-offs.
As you know, I went to college in your fair city, and as I'm sure you also know, said college had a reputation for widespread partaking in herbal healing rituals.
As an EMT in college, I worked with a lot of police - who tend to have a pretty sober view on which activities pose a threat to the community. The cops made it clear that recreational marijuana use, among students or almost anyone else, was simply not on their radar of pressing issues. The likelihood of pot use resulting in a civil disturbance was orders of magnitude lower than alcohol, other drugs, or even natural mental disorders.
Pot use is not harmless, but if we banned every recreational activity which was potentially harmful, society would go crazy. It's all about priorities.
Mar '11
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
I give up. I give up because apparently, conservatives are giving up, and giving in. So, let's go ahead and bury conservatism already. Put flowers on it's grave, sing a hym, and hand the keys to the Libertarians.
Aug '10
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
WC, I would like to take a couple of exceptions to your post.
Also, the connection between marijuana and schizophrenia is well documented. I had a young nephew who became seriously schizophrenic after smoking pot several times. Poor guy's never been the same. While it's true that not everyone who smokes pot gets schizophrenic it definitely is a contributing factor for those who have a tendency toward it.
Jun '10
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Although marijuana does cause it's share of vehicle accidents, I'm reminded of a friend pulled over by police some lifetimes ago.
Officer: Do you know how fast you were going?
50? No. 60? No. 70!? No...5...
Jun '12
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Hurm....
Aug '10
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Cornelius Julius Sebastian
Hurm.... · 2 minutes ago
whaaa??
that really harshed my mellow man
Dec '12
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Excellent.
Jun '12
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
flownover
Cornelius Julius Sebastian
Hurm.... · 2 minutes ago
whaaa??
that really harshed my mellow man · 17 minutes ago
No worries. That was my way of saying, "I don't like this, but I am thinking about it because I've thought the same thing already and, as a practical matter it is probably inevitable." But my inner Rorschach doesn't dig it too much. BTW, that BBQ sauce is still flipping AWESOME! I think I need to winter grill this weekend and further ponder a cannabis saturated America. Maybe it would be a good thing because the liberals and libertarians would be stoned so often that they'd forget to go to the polls....
Sep '10
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Great post, WC. Meaning, of course, I agree with you entirely. There are lots of things I like and don't like but nonetheless do not think it is the state's role to police, recreational pot use being one of them. For most issues these days, I take heart from the following lines from (by of all groups, the Police) "Spirits in a Material World": There is no political solution. ... Where does the answer lie? Living from day to day."
Edited on December 13, 2012 at 10:55pmNov '11
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
You're know that National Review has been pro-legalization since 1996, right?
You missed that issue? Well, you can read about it here.
Mar '11
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Fred Cole
You're know that National Review has been pro-legalization since 1996, right?
You missed that issue? Well, you can read about it here.
Fred, you know I agree with you on almost all issues, but being patronizing doesn't help our cause much.
I'm sure that Douglas knows exactly what NR wrote about marijuana and also knows that WFB smoked pot once. But WFB is not the Jesus Christ of the conservative movement, and NR not the Bible, as conservatives on Ricochet have been pointing out for quite some time.
Saying "well your "flagship publication" endorses it, so why don't you get with your own team, man?" is, frankly, a Junior League move.
Edited on December 13, 2012 at 11:06pmNov '11
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Frozen Chosen: WC, I would like to take a couple of exceptions to your post.
1. You may or may not get a criminal record. It's not just dangerous dealers, but its also peaceful people who consume it for their own use, and people who use it as medicine.
2. There generally aren't black markets in legal things (two exceptions: tax avoidance, as in cigarettes and stolen property, physical and intelectual). The price for prohibited items includes a premium built into the price because of the prohibition and the additional risk involved. If you can buy it in a store, you can buy it cheaper bc it doesn't carry that premium (also probably a more reliable quality, and more convenience), so the legitimate merchants will out compete the street dealers.
Mar '11
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Frozen Chosen: WC, I would like to take a couple of exceptions to your post.
To add to Fred's points:
1) There have been a few states over the years which have had mandatory jail time for possession of any amount of marijuana, but I'm not sure if any currently do. In most states, possession of small amounts will indeed not lead to jail time.
2) Perhaps the fate of organized crime after the repeal of Prohibition is a model: the organizations didn't go away, but they did stop selling alcohol after a few years because they soon couldn't keep up with the open market. And while the Mafia itself didn't disappear, removing its main business (together with the decline in unions after that) has certainly robbed it of most of its power.
Oct '12
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
You forgot, one more reason to legalize it. The vast number of young men and women who are precluded from professional careers for convictions. How many doctors, lawyers, future presidents are being lost to a 'drug war' over a minor intoxicant?
Oct '12
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Schizophrenia is a terrible disease with a multifactorial cause. However, I know of no credible study that shows the connection between marijuana and schizophrenia. First, many people with mental illnes try to self medicate with drugs and alcohol. Further, Schizophrenia manifests itself in the late teens and early 20's this is a prime time for experimentation with intoxicants. There may be a correlation, but there is not a causation.
Oct '12
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Conservatives should embrace individual liberty and small government. You'd win more elections. The social conservatives apparently abandoned you in the last two elections. They are single issue voters, unless your 'anti-abortion' enough they won't turn out.
Jul '11
Re: A SoCon Defends Her Vote for Marijuana
Here's a link with state by state laws regarding marijuana.
Possession, in most states is a misdemeanor, however can have jail time, below a certain oz. Above is a felony.
However, if you are caught for possession you are put on probation, at which point you are a target for the police.