In case you have been living in a hole in the ground like
Bilbo Baggins, I am sure this isn’t the first time you’ve heard the rumblings
about pot law reform. While many states are still trying to deal with the
simple referendum for Medical Marijuana laws, the rest of the country hell bent
for legalization, with provisions. And by with provisions I mean that the
states and the Federal government want to make sure they get their fair cut of
the deals once they wrest control of pot away from the black market. Hear that
Mexico!
A recent report, admittedly from a pro-pot organization,
showed that the state of Virginia stood to gain $53 million a year by
legalizing herb and then taxing it. How would they handle it? Well much the
same as they do alcohol, one suspects, but I am not totally sure about where it
might be sold.
One thing’s for sure, it probably won’t be sold out of
machines like cigarettes once were. Recently, KTVA Anchorage reporter Charlo
Greene dumped her job while during a live on air report. Later the Alaska Cannabis Club President told
FoxNews.com's Jonathan Hunt that had she merely given her two weeks no one
would have noticed. Instead, she says her action helped support Ballot Measure
2-a vote to legalize marijuana in the state. Alaskans will vote November
4 on Ballot Measure 2, which would legalize marijuana use for those over 21 and
regulate its production, sale, and use in the state.
“The fact that
I'm sitting here with you on FoxNews.com talking about Ballot Measure 2 and
what it means for Alaskans shows that whatever I did worked to spark a
conversation about marijuana reform in Alaska, across the nation, and across
the world," Greene said during her interview.
Marijuana laws
and how they will affect the country are getting to be big news. Yes, it
started small in Colorado and Washington State, but as Robert E. Lee said of
the fall of Petersburg “It’s merely a matter of time.”
No matter what
side of the argument you fall on, there are a few things that cannot be denied.
The sale of legal marijuana has proven to be profitable to the shop owners, the
state, and the federal governments. As greedy as that bunch is, you can’t tell
me that other states haven’t taken notice and started to lick their tariff
loving lips.
The back side of
the legalization issue, or what to do with those already imprisoned, would seem
to have a simple cure. Let them out of jail. And that would create a double
whammy by cutting down on the prison populations and cutting down the case load
in the courts. Both of those changes would have a dramatic effect on the
current cost of prisons. That’s win-win no matter how you cut it. We already
have jails setting “low level” criminals out due to overcrowding issues. Take
this path, and bang you have a ready group just salivating at a chance to get
out of jail. And, with the new pot laws, they wouldn’t even have to worry about
a job.
If you don’t
think that legalization is coming, just take a quick trip to the local garden
club. Some of them already expect it to happen. That’s not to say they favor
it, but when the reality of a thing sits in front of you, even people who tend
to be a bit more conservative can see the writing on the wall.
Back in the late 60’s there was a push to legalize pot. It
didn’t work then. But today, with the different pressures on society, and the
need for another big tax source, it’s hard to believe that legalization isn’t
right around the corner.
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