Friday, April 20, 2012

Pot bill clears committee

In what was possibly an accidental irony, the General Assembly's Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee today passed the Medical marijuana bill 36-15. Today is April 20th, also known as "4/20". It now moves to the House of Representatives for further action.

I'm kind of neutral about this law, because I don't smoke pot (not since high school, anyway) but I think pot should be legalized, with the same restrictions (and tax revenues) as booze or cigarettes. People, thousands of people in this state, smoke pot daily (I know quite a few of them actually), and it would be nice to see the state make some money off it, and also reduce the criminal element involved in selling it.

What I don't like about it is the sham of having it called "medical marijuana" when in fact it's just a ruse to allow anyone to get a "license" to smoke pot. I really hate when people manipulate the law to dishonestly achieve their agenda.

"Hi doctor, my back hurts."

"That's fine. Here's your certificate to smoke dope."

How about we face the issue honestly and call it what it is: a bill to legalize pot for personal use?

The tactic of using false "medical" issues to enact legislation (and yes, I do know there are some valid medical reasons to ingest pot; from which maybe 2 to 5% of the licensees actually suffer. The rest are just regular stoners and everyone knows it) isn't all that different from the abominable Virginia law that requires women seeking a legal abortion to undergo an invasive and painful ultrasound exam that is solely designed to discourage them from terminating an unwanted pregnancy.

I mean, just look at this "medical marijuana dispensary" in California.


I dunno, but it doesn't look much like a typical doctor's office or a pharmacy.

It looks like a head shop.

Which is absolutely fine, don't get me wrong. It's exactly what a pot store should look like.

It just ain't medical looking.

I guess I hope a law gets proposed and passes which portrays the issue honestly, rather than a sham that is dishonest and opens the door to more Draconian legislation like we've seen in Virginia.

I mean c'mon, we're all adults here, right?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Spot on, CT Bob

lakezoarian said...

Speaking for myself- there are times that it's nice, and sometimes I feel disappointed in myself for not having more natural "creativity", which it seems to bring out. OTOH, I usually avoid it because I get a LOT more done without the distraction, and I know some people who don't seem to live for anything else. Except for the creativity part, one could say the same for beer...

An old FIRESIGN THEATER "nugget"-

Q: Why did the short hair cross the road?
A: Because someone told him to.

Q: Why did the long hair cross the road?
A: Because someone told him NOT to.

I think that just about sums up the reason for the "Prohibition"... And be sure to click on my name for a fun musical thing to go along with your viewpoint in this groovy post. "full-screen" it, tee hee!

vagabondblogger said...

Bob, I agree with you. It should just be legalized outright, taxed & regulated.