The recent legalization of medicinal marijuana in New Jersey got me thinking, in this time of recession, wouldn't legalizing marijuana for taxing benefits make some sort of sense? I am not advocating the rampant use of marijuana...but the fact of the matter is, use is rampant enough already. Cigarettes are legally allowed for purchase and it can do more harm to a person because of all the chemicals associated with filtering modern cigarettes. Alcohol is legally allowed and the effects of alcohol can lead to liver damage, alcohol poisoning, etc. Marijuana isn't necessarily safer than those legal substances, but it is no worse than them either.
The logic behind allowing one form of smoking over another is something I also find fault with. If marijuana is illegal for health reasons then cigarettes should be too. They both provide short term "benefits" and long term consequences...so why are they judged differently? I just think that in this time of financial woes, the government should at least consider the option of legalizing marijuana with the expectation that it would significantly and positively affect our waning financial markets.
Beyond that benefit, I think this would allow for general oversight of this issue from the beginning, instead of having agencies like the DEA play catch up in the end. It should be regulated just like medicinal marijuana and this way someone who has a legitimate problem with marijuana may stand a better chance of getting help because of his/her interactions with some sort of official entity.
The point is this, marijuana exists, it is used heavily already, I think its time the government started to use it to its advantage, instead of using resources to fight it... especially in this financial climate...just a thought.
Hope this finds you in good health...and not smoking herb.
No comments:
Post a Comment