War. What is it good for? Well, some wars are fought for freedom. And other
wars are fought for fucked up reasons. Still, some wars are well
known and others, not so much. And then there are those wars
that have waged on for decades and are even less known.
The War on Drugs. Heard of it?
One doesn't have to own a tie-dyed ferret and a hackysack to realize
the waste of the drug wars; not to mention how they've resulted in a disturbing
accumulation of federal powers (mandatory minimums, asset forfeiture, a
paramilitary DEA to name but a few).
Let us pause here while Peter Tosh sings
his peace:
Now. Some argue that the war on drugs (more
specifically, weed) identifies, isolates, and targets the most marginalized,
defenseless, and the most vulnerable in American society: the
poor.
Indeed, declared a 'trillion-dollar failure,' the war
on drugs less about keeping so-called dangerous illicit drugs off the streets.
Keeping weed illegal is good. But not for the reasons you've been
taught.
The worst thing that could happen is if weed was legal
tomorrow and grandma could go down to her neighborhood Starbucks to
grab a dime bag.
Legal weed would leave a lot of people butt-hurt:
1. The Private Prison Industry
2. The Addiction Recovery
Industry
3. The Drug Testing Industry
4. Police Unions
5. Alcohol And
Beer Companies
6. Pharmaceutical Corporations
7. Prison Guard Unions
8.
Trial Lawyers
Sun Tzu said "all war is deception," and that
"there is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolong
warfare."
Can I get an Amen?
Shunned by the high-minded, moral majority, blighted
by a religiously ambitious Bible Belt, and regulated by a
powerful hegemony, (weed) drugs and there uses have remained pervasive
among popular culture.
The path forward --> Decriminalize the plant!!! And tax it!!! Or something!!!
Washington state and Colorado legalized weed for
recreational purposes, and it looks like Washington DC butting the hell out.
Even Virginia Attorney General and Candidate for Governor,
Ken Cuccinelli thinks states should "experiment"
(hahahaha) with legalizing weed.
Smokey, another noted philosopher tells us, "Ain't
nothing wrong with smoking weed. Weed is from the Earth. God put it here for me
and you. Take advantage, man Take advantage."
Can I get another AMEN?
In
the famous words of Andre 3,000, "Marijuana illegal but
cigarettes cool, I might look kinda funny but I ain't no fool."
That's the
dissonance. The paradox. And the pop culture pressures seems to be eroding the
confines of conservative thinking towards pot.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog, the topic was interesting and I liked how you incorporated the video selection. I like the way you write the posts, it feels like you’re speaking one on one with the person reading it and it has an effortless flow about it. I appreciate that it since it is a lot of text that it broken up and not all one continuous paragraph. I enjoy your style of writing, it is sharp and to the point. I enjoyed the pop culture references with the Andre 3000 quote; it added an element of fun and felt like an appropriate conclusion. The one thing that I could critique is that the blog is lacking a design, it may have been intentional, but it could benefit from maybe a simple background picture or a splash of color in the blog title. The font is alright but you could benefit from the use of different fonts for headings throughout the blog. Also, there were no pictures included in your post, while you had two videos, you could have added a picture to accommodate the writing. Other than that, I enjoyed reading your blog and will continue to do so!
ReplyDeleteHello, I find your entire blog highly enjoyable. Very interesting stuff and it is very easy to follow. Im supposed to just comment on the second post. This post is in your face at first I was lost then after I kept reading it really was an interesting little look in to your weekend filled with shitty situations. Your writing style is easy to relate to yet you don't dumb yourself down to be more understandable. I like the video a lot good song. This is one of the more interesting blogs Ive seen. The design is super basic in this one as it is in mine. Its all about the content when it comes to this blog and the content is very enjoyable and entertaining while being thought provoking at the same time.
ReplyDelete