As the legalization of marijuana issue works its way forward though the various states and the federal arenas we will all have the opportunity to see the political processes proceed and with it the quality and level of judgment and understanding at which national and state leaders are capable of operating. In other words we are about to witness the incompetency and perhaps in some cases the influence of non-public interests in the legislation and execution of marijuana use in the public sphere.
Now don’t assume I am for or against the legalization, to be
perfectly honest I am generally indifferent to that decision because no matter
which way it goes the same consequential political and public aspects that will
plague the nation for years to come will occur. It is the ‘laws of physics’ about
marijuana in society that are the real issue and that is something that is
beyond the comprehension of politicians. Politicians think, I use the term
loosely, that they can create a legal policy that will resolve the issue by
defining the manner of use that will be permitted. Note: the current criminal
status of marijuana use that has existed for the last several decades was the
best attempt that politicians were capable of and we can all see the excellent
and wonderful success and benefits that have occurred because of those efforts.
The issues of use are not primarily whether it is considered
legal or illegal that issue is just the one that people get their ethical self
wrapped around based on how they see the use as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. But ask
what the cause and effect dimensions of legal or not legal are, and do those
consequences ethically justify the ‘rightness’ or ‘wrongness’ position being made
and promised by the politicians?
As the public sentiment grows for legalization and the
politicians see funding’s beck and call the crime will ebb and the weed will
flow. But the laws of physics will proceed unrelenting without regard for
opinion, desire, dictate or hope of those who judged imperfectly what they
failed to comprehend. These effects will come from how the use of marijuana
will intrude on other areas of life and society. Just like trying to
criminalize it produced a black-market for weed, criminal elements who
capitalized on it, costs for law enforcement and punishment, granting use a “rebellious”
character, and changing the lives and prospects of numerous citizens; the
legalization of marijuana will extend into areas that are beyond just the
question of is it legal or not. With legal use are we less impacted by how
marijuana effects things like driving behavior and skills, healthcare costs, cost of insurance, non-adult access to use,
use at work or in the military, …
When others use weed does it affect the responsibility that
they have with respect to impacts on you?
This is where the politicians fail to lead. In defining the
legality how well thought out are these areas in terms of what happens next?
Presumably, the justification for criminalization was that bad things resulted
from use. The fact the worse things happened from just deciding to criminalize
use doesn’t eliminate the fact that there are consequences of use and there are
risks to others from legal use.
So what’s needed is that we need a comprehensive marijuana
use policy that addresses not just its legality but all the other dimensions in
our lives that use will affect. This is not something that gets done once and
done. Marijuana policy will need to be studied and monitored so that our
society can adapt and respond to the deficiencies in the legislation and what
was understood and hoped for by the politicians that think they can will the
world to work the way they intended it to.
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