This morning I was driving to get my morning coffee when I heard the show's host talk about how dangerous it would be if Marijuana were legalized. He started the conversation with medicinal properties and then went on to discuss Colorado. For those who are not interested or do not know of the current state of weed in the United States here's a quick recap.
Recently the Colorado State legislature legalized the recreational use of weed, and imposed a higher tax (25%) than was on the long legal medical prescription grade (2.5%). The idea was to generate revenue by providing legal means for purchasing something that was already being used and obtained illegally.
For fiscal year to date 2014-2015 Colorado has generated $52,570,081 from both medicinal and legal Marijuana sales.
Time will tell if the payoff will be worth the cost of education and accidents associated with a newly legalized recreational drug. Mainly law enforcement is having trouble enforcing high while driving laws with most of the accidents associated with the drug coming from auto accidents.
For more background check the daily reading for today.
The talk show host who I will not name, went on to say (or hint at) that legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes was dangerous. His main argument was that we do not know at this point whether or not weed is good or bad for us, and he made the fatal mistake (in my mind) of trying to relate Marijuana to alcohol.
So I called in and was apparently coherent enough to get past their call screener, one I assume that was a fellow enthusiast, and after waiting was put at the starting segment, so right after the break he comes to me.
We banter for a bit, and all in all I think I held my ground well. I however felt unsatisfied with how he left things so I decided to write an email into the show, so lets see if I hear back. I really like his show despite my disagreements.
I just wanted to thank you guys for letting me on the show today. As much as I know I am not going to get [talk show host] to change his mind, I found this article interesting.
I also wanted to mention the amount of minorities currently incarcerated, some for life, for Schedule I narcotics offenses, the majority of which are marijana related.
In Louisiana one black man was recently incarcerated for selling a small amount of weed to get $5 for food. Under the state's 3 strikes rule he was sentenced to life without parole. Article below, though you might find the tone biased.
It seems to me that legalizing weed for medicinal use or recreational use could add a drop of stimulus into local economies as well. If inmates that were incarcerated for weed alone were released, perhaps they could fill some of the jobs that illegal immigrants are doing, at minimum wage, adding to the number of legally employed people.
Also decreasing what I see as a gap between american workers who think they are above menial labor and the over qualified underemployed who can't find a job.
Some labor force has to fill these jobs that the average person would not want, and if we want tax paying Americans instead of undocumented labor we should invest in the overwhelming amount of Americans in prison who might want to work hard if given enough chances.
Chances with strict rules and consequences for misbehavior.
I think a safe first step is to deregulate Marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic, and release inmates serving time only for this offense, into work programs.
Work programs where they can make real money, pay taxes, and eventually seek higher paying jobs.
Drug testing being a strict requirement for work.
Think of how this would stimulate the local economies. I know this type of plan is currently in use, but think of what a massive surge of labor could do for the overall goal of full employment.
Mainly if deregulate a substance that was used by the chinese some 4,000 years ago. That is not chemically manufactured like any other Schedule I, and if given more time and research could be found to be better for you than drinking a beer every night.
Thank you for your time. I enjoy the show and am glad we have influential people like [talk show host] in the world.
The talk show host only wanted to talk about the negative effects and how he was only for medicinal use. Though we all know how easily it is to get a prescription "weed card" for weed in California.
If you need a reminder here's a fun video from Garfunkel and Oates.
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