So, prop 19 didn't pass. I knew it wouldn't. In fact, I don't even know if I wanted it to by the end of all this.
I still believe that deep down, at the heart of the matter, I want one day for people to realize that marijuana is no worse to the human race than alcohol, prescription drugs, etc.
The other part of me fears letting the government take control of something else that they can tax, change the form of and begin to regulate.
Still, I'd rather not feel like a criminal nor treat others like criminals that choose to indulge in marijuana in place of harsher, more dangerous forms of recreation including alcohol. Don't get me wrong, I like alcohol just as much as the next person. I don't think alcohol should be illegal either. I just wish that people could understand that when looking at the big picture, marijuana is absolutely NO WORSE.
Drug dealers didn't want 19 to pass-- they wanted to keep the money in their pockets. I wanted to use it for our government, but who knows how they would have foolishly spent it anyways.
Stoners didn't want 19 to pass-- they wanted to have stronger weed that couldn't be taxed or regulated by the government.
Non-users didn't want 19 to pass-- they believe its a hardcore drug, similar to heroin or meth...hahaha.
I wanted the government to have the 500 million per year spent on marijuana, but I don't want to be regulated. I wanted to feel like the upstanding citizen I am, but I don't want to be taxed. Therefore, I don't know what to believe.
All I know, is thanks to voters this year: Weed is illegal. Weed is expensive. Dealers will stay rich. The government will stay poor. We will all stay criminals.
So if you voted NO because you were trying to "stop" the use of marijuana, you did nothing but keep the money from the government and in the pockets of dealers. You made it illegal for me to smoke, but you also made it so that marijuana will be stronger, unregulated and cheaper. So in a way, you definitely helped the users. Hmmm interesting.
So smokers will continue to smoke... They will have the risk of getting in trouble (not really since its now just an infraction), yet they will have better marijuana, more money and less government interference.
I think a lot of people voted for the wrong reasons and not necessarily what they truly think is right. If I was a dealer, I'd probably want to keep my money too.
What's interesting is that if it had passed, we would have all been able to grow a 25 square foot area of it! The strength of the weed could have been our choice, not the government. Oh well... I guess there will be another opportunity in the future.
ReplyDeleteExactly!! So therefore we would not have lost a single right and the government would still have basically the same control. Only difference is that we could do it legally. I know doctors, teachers, all kinds of upstanding citizens who are apparantly "criminals", yet I just read an article how alcohol is statistically more dangerous then meth and heroin.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting one for sure. Thanks for weighing in Lauryn. I talked to someone yesterday who was saying that the working class stiff was able to subsidize his income by selling a little weed on the side. He was worried that if marijuana became legal, big business like the tobacco industry would control the production and distribution. He was concerned that they might add things to this perfectly natural substance that could make it deadly, like they did with tobacco. On the other hand, if it was cultivated and harvested for other uses besides just smoking, like paper, for instance, then it could replace our dependence on precious resources like trees. It would be taxed, the government would get a piece, and if they spent it on producing a much better educational system in this state, then it makes sense.
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