Guest AuthorYou want to know the power of marijuana? Ask Killer Mike.
As he puts it, “Smoking a joint and reading his tweets” made the Atlanta-based rapper a supporter of Bernie Sanders for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.
That must have been one powerful joint.
Or take a listen to any of the songs on Complex’s “50 Best Weed Songs Ever.”
Or consult Louis Armstrong, the foremost artist of the 20th century, whose passion for weed gave us glorious numbers like “Muggles.”
Armstrong, who in his letters made clear that weed was a harmless and joyful pleasure, wrote:
“The first time that I smoked Marijuana (or) Gage as they so beautifully calls’ it some time…I had myself a Ball…That’s why it really puzzles me to see Marijuana connected with Narcotics—Dope and all that kind of crap…It is actually a shame.”
Too unscientific?
There’s always this from Business Insider: it increases creativity, helps increase metabolism, gives those with cancer a fighting chance. What’s not to like?
A Florida state senator from Cutler Bay, Dwight Bullard, would like to make recreational marijuana legal. He has been at for three years.
Each year, inevitably, he loses the battle in a Florida Legislature dominated by Republicans just old enough to embrace the federal War on Drugs, which declares marijuana a danger.
Here’s what the Office of National Drug Control Policy says:
- Marijuana is a drug that impairs memory, limits the ability to problem solve and think, wreaks havoc on concentration.
- Marijuana results in IQ loss. Usually, 8 points.
- Marijuana users have a “five-fold” chance of having a heart attack after first-use.
- 1 in 11 marijuana users become abusers. That is 4.2 million people classified as drug abusers under the definitions of the American Psychological Association’s lengthy Diagnostic Statistics Manual (DSM).
That is scary stuff, especially because 18 million Americans smoke joints. Moreover, recreational use is increasing. Since 2003, marijuana use has increased from 5.8 to 7 percent of the population. But its harmful effects are mostly exaggerated.
That brings us back to Bullard, who has made his doomed-to-fail effort in the insane belief that the tide will roll over the flimsy Republican embrace of the war on drugs.
Wrong in 2014, 2015, and likely, 2016, Bullard, though, believes in the power of good ideas and the inevitability of widespread public support.
His case rests on the progress seen in several states: 23 of them have legalized recreational marijuana. It has been a tax bonanza for those states.
The recreational industry market value is gaining: from $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion.
It is projected that it will be worth about $11 billion. Maybe $36 billion, eventually.
And then there’s public support.
According to a recent Pew Research survey, 53 percent of Americans support legalization. Baby Boomers are evenly divided: 50 percent support it, 47 percent oppose it. Millennials support legalization by 68 percent.
However, only 39 percent of Republicans support legalization.
Perhaps for the reason conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks offered in 2014:
“I’d say that in healthy societies government wants to subtly tip the scale to favor temperate, prudent, self-governing citizenship. In those societies, government subtly encourages the highest pleasures, like enjoying the arts or being in nature, and discourages lesser pleasures, like being stoned.”
The key term: “self-governing.” In a free society, citizens should enjoy the liberty to do as they like as long it does no harm to others and the public good.
The pursuit of happiness, no?
Bullard’s bill, SB 0616, will allow recreational users 2.5 ounces and a limit of six plants for growing it within the privacy of their domicile. Also, government will be able to tax the market.
Obviously, Bullard’s proposal is reasonable, fair, responsible, a sign of progress, a faith in individual freedom, and an expression of public sentiment. So what’s the problem?
Then again, this is the Florida legislature.
***
Chris Timmons is a native Floridian, columnist, and fellow with the James Madison Institute. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
