In the past few months, the legalization of marijuana for medical and even recreational use has gathered an unprecedented amount of media attention and public support. Massachusets recently decriminalized possesion of less than an ounce. The California State legislature is looking at a bill that will legalize and tax recreational cannabis. If this bill is passed (and it has support from the San Francisco Sheriff and members of the board of equalization) it should raise one billion dollars for the state budget.
In fact, out of all the questions online visitors submitted to president Obama, the number 1 question was whether he will legalize marijuana, and whether he thinks that this would help the economy. Obama laughed this question off, disingenuously saying that it "ranked fairly high' not that it was the most frequently asked question.
There are several factors allowing for this rise in public opinion. one is that the "powers that be' are finally beginning to realize how ineffective and destructive the war on drugs has become another is financial. During the great depression, prohibition was lifted because the governemnt needed the revenue from taxes on alcohol, could no longer afford the law enforcement expenditures, and wanted to cut off the main source of revenue for organized crime. certainly, considering the immense debt states are in, the staggering cost of arresting and jailing drug users, and the massive violence caused by the Mexican drug cartels, this historical parallel seems very relevant. (Though as with prohibition ending the war and drugs cannot singlehandedly rescue the economy.) However, I think that the main catalyst for this public debate is the web. web 2.0 is allowing for the public to play a much bigger role political discourse than ever before. The idea of participation has, in a very short time, taken root in our culture. Obama's online Q&A is a great example of this change. The
opnline community' is now considered as a legitamte political force, and as with most issues related to the new web, the major implication of this have yet to be fully realized.
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I recently saw a show called Marijuana Inc. that was all about the vast marijuana industry in California. It was really interesting because it talked about the medicinal benefits of marijuana, the financial consequences of the drug war, and the result of so many growing communities turning to pot cultivation. Some of the towns from the show depend on marijuana sales for their economic stability. If you stop their marijuana trade, the whole towns will collapse (I find that staggering).
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I agree with you: the web has been playing a huge role in making people aware of the political debates going on over this issue and other issues. The web also allows people to participate in the debate by writing in online forums or by submitting questions. I think it's wonderful and I hope it continues because there are some issues that can't be put on the back burner anymore.
I don't know which way to lean on legalized marijuana... I disapprove of its use because just like alcohol (in excess) marijuana can have a tremendously destructive effect on peoples' lives, but I feel that enforcement of drug laws places great strain on law enforcement...
ReplyDeleteI think this is a big issue that should be looked into more. Legalizing marijuana would financially help to stablize our economy because we spend so many resources on this drug war (which we seem to be losing). From what I see, it is pretty easy to obtain marijuana so if we did want to keep it illegal, we need to try some different approaches.
ReplyDeleteSounds fair to me.
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