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| Drugs come to this country by invitation |
We lost the drug war just a few years after we became
aggressive to stop drugs from coming into this country. I'm talking 1975, when
a bag of marijuana went from $10 an ounce to $30 and that was just the
beginning. By cracking down on bulky and smelly pot, the prices jumped and when
the prices got high enough, pushers found it more profitable to bring in heroin
and cocaine than the easily recognizable marijuana.
About this time is when we in the Houston area began to hear about people
carrying guns and robbing or shooting each other over marijuana. The reason was
simple. Now there was a lot of money involved, not just 10 bucks.
Young people who were used to using grass for entertainment
purposes, used what was available instead and this included LSD, PCP - or angel
dust, Quaaludes, uppers/speed/meth and heroin and cocaine. I'm skimming the
surface of what was available in the absence of marijuana. All of this was
available for a price and that price didn't come with any guarantee of quality
either. On top of that, the prices just kept going higher. Remember when they
raised the tax on cigarettes to the point that smash and grab crimes involved
grabbing cartons of cigs?
Now, bump forward 43 years later and we have the identical
system in place with the identical dismal track record. Of the many heinous
concoctions to come down the dope trail is this myriad of chemicals and blends
called synthetic marijuana. In Illinois
alone, it has recently killed 2 and severely hospitalized 54 patients who after
ingesting this substance have began to bleed from various parts of their
anatomy. If that isn't scary, please clue me in on what is.
Regulating vice due to our Puritanical teachings has done
nothing to stop the flow of drugs into this country. Nothing. If anything, it
has created a bigger monster of criminal black markets and dangerous
unregulated pills, powders, liquids, and leafy substances that is like playing
Russian roulette to the end user. Now if I was with the righteous far right on
this matter, I would say it was good medicine, but I am not and they wouldn't
be either if it was their 14 year old son or daughter on that gurney at the
emergency room.
I would much rather she was guilty of sneaking a bit of Jack
Daniel's or sliding a Winston cigarette from the pack than buying god knows
what from a stranger. Now mind you, that is an example and kids will do what
they are told not to, more times than not. The point I'm making is if they are
going to experiment, I would much rather they got their hands on something that
is regulated as to type and strength and for what its worth, accidentally
over-dosing on anything including alcohol is not a pleasant experience.
Our country gets all up in a frenzy any time a nut job with
a gun shoots inside a school and rightly so. However it doesn't make sense to
me when kids are using these home-brewed or cartel drugs with unknown
characteristics and mass-storming emergency rooms why our government refuses to
decriminalize marijuana.
When Concealed Carry first became law, there were many who
believed there would be mass shootings, or maybe we don't remember that because
it didn't pan out like that. But remember recently when Open Carry was allowed?
Again some folks swore it would be the OK corral. Didn't happen, did it? Legalizing and
regulating marijuana will cause a certain segment of the population to try it
and those who wish to continue using it can get a known strength product, much
like alcohol. It will continue to be illegal to drive or appear in public
intoxicated and cops can arrest anyone they suspect of PI at any time, so
nothing will change there.
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| Synthetic marijuana is Russian roulette |
What will happen is a number of good things. First, kids
will stop using crap like rat poison laced fake pot. Second, the very cartels
we've made rich will have to find other animals to suck blood from. Third,
people who simply wanted pot for medicinal or recreational purposes will no
longer be considered criminal. Fourth, the thousands of products that can be
made from hemp plants will suddenly open up a number of business opportunities.
Last, there will be a mass educational effort to help people understand the
safe usage of pot, as some of it is very strong.
Its time folks. The war on drugs is a miserable failure that
has only created a bigger problem. The only responsible thing to do is vote to legalize
and regulate it and the government simply cannot be allowed to levy a hefty tax
on it. Why? Because it will create another black market.
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| Black markets exist when restricting laws are enacted or taxes are unduly raised. |
