It started with Richard Nixon.
When he publicly launched the war on marijuana 40 years ago, the decision was not grounded in facts or reason. Actually, it was just the opposite.
The president handpicked a national commission in 1971, and tasked it with taking a hard look at the substance. Chaired by Raymond Shafer, the Republican governor of Pennsylvania, it was no left-leaning group. They approached the subject objectively and produced a comprehensive report. Their conclusion? The harms of marijuana are quite limited, and the use of marijuana by adults should not be considered a criminal offense.
Nixon promptly ignored their findings and moved forward with his plan to make marijuana Public Enemy No. 1. Since that time, marijuana prohibition has become an industry, and the actors whose jobs are dependent on that industry are fighting tooth and nail to keep it going.
When he publicly launched the war on marijuana 40 years ago, the decision was not grounded in facts or reason. Actually, it was just the opposite.
The president handpicked a national commission in 1971, and tasked it with taking a hard look at the substance. Chaired by Raymond Shafer, the Republican governor of Pennsylvania, it was no left-leaning group. They approached the subject objectively and produced a comprehensive report. Their conclusion? The harms of marijuana are quite limited, and the use of marijuana by adults should not be considered a criminal offense.
Nixon promptly ignored their findings and moved forward with his plan to make marijuana Public Enemy No. 1. Since that time, marijuana prohibition has become an industry, and the actors whose jobs are dependent on that industry are fighting tooth and nail to keep it going.
Read more:Amendment 64: Should pot be legal in Colorado? Yes - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_21595626/yes-end-senseless-marijuana-prohibition#ixzz27OwFRJuP
So pot is virtually harmless AND it's Public Enemy #1. Yeah, that makes tons of sense.
BUT! OMG! Think of the children:
"Moreover, there is now evidence that regulating marijuana might be better for teens in Colorado. Since our state established a tightly regulated legal medical marijuana market in 2009, marijuana use among high school students has dropped 11 percent in the state, according to surveys conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationwide, where marijuana is entirely unregulated, it increased 11 percent."
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