Pass that joint, and cut my taxes.

Marijuana busts have always been a favorite of the police. They are after mostly teenagers and very small time crooks. Kids can be pressured to give up the "dealer" that sold them half a dozen joints. A small time crook can be busted with a kilo and the write up says TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS OF POT !!!!!!. The salaries, the lost time, the lawyers, and the ruined reputations that can cost jobs and a future can add up to tens of thousands of dollars for a single joint.

Yes, I know that pot can be found in the hands of hard core criminals, thieves, murderers, and both Republicans and Democrats. In other countries it can be found in religious ceremonies, and open air cafes. Prohibition, did not work, is not working, will not work. Especially when there has never been any scientific basis and the only way the lies could be supported was to ban research on the topic.

Cancer patients have been denied the only drug that lets them eat.
Glaucoma patients have been forced to weigh blindness against criminal action. Science has been outlawed for years so pot could be called the "mother drug" leading to all others.

I don't support driving under the influence of anything. I found out years ago I can't get a DUI on my couch, the worst that can happen is I drop the remote control.

In the excitement of the Obama win it may have been overlooked that the war on marijuana has been lost.

The ridiculous and money wasting war on hemp has been rejected by up to 65% of the population. In Michigan citizens will be living in a state where where marijuana for medical use is legal. Patients will be allowed to grow up to 12 marijuana plants and possess 2.5 ounces at any one time.

In Mass. the victory is more sweeping but success is not as clear, In Massachusetts 65 percent of voters voted to "yes" on reduce minor marijuana possession to a fine-only offense.

Massachusetts is the thirteenth state to decriminalize personal possession and use of cannabis.
The worrisome news is that under state law, politicians have the option of amending the new law and Massachusetts politicians have a long history of ignoring citizen initiatives.

In the News of the Weird on the same topic,
California's Proposition 5, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA), lost by nearly a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent. The law was much wider than Marijuana, it addressed non-violent crimes of many types.
The measure was supported by many in the treatment community, but condemned by national drug-court supporters and California law-enforcement groups. In one commercial, Governor Terminator stood up with enough brass and badges to start his own marching band.

Perhaps California is still just ahead of its time. I am very pro-union but I wonder at the massive support given by the unionized prison guards that stood to lose a large part of the population they are paid to guard. Since the prisons are 50% to 60% or even more overcrowded and the prison guards are vastly understaffed I think the only thing they would have had to fear was not job loss, but having to learn how to help rehabilitate the remaining prisoners when the levels were reduced to levels the guards could handle with safety.

To be absolutely clear my point is that MJ should be legalized, taxed, and controlled. Like booze, drive while high and face the same penalties. Instead of a steady drain on resources that could be used to stop real criminals pot could become a source of income to the government and a source of solace to the ill.

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