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Complex Numbers #622204 added December 4, 2008 at 3:22pm
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Modest Proposal #3
Last month, I proposed (rather tongue-in-cheekly, or so I thought) repealing Amendment XXII (Presidential term limits), with the implication that we needed to do it now so Obama can take advantage of it in 2016. This was mostly to tweak the ears of the "Palin 2012" crowd. They can make funny jokes; I can make funny jokes.
A few days later, I proposed taxing churches to help with our budget shortfall. I'm actually more serious about this one, though I don't see it happening. And in any case, if it would get churches MORE involved in politics than they already are, forget it.
I'm totally serious about this one:
Legalize marijuana.
Now, I know that most of the people who say that do so from a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke. They see personal benefit in it because then they can have a reliable, safe source for pot, and don't have to freak out every time they hear sirens (in fact, one of the things I like to do to fuck with potheads is to imitate a siren).
Me, I'm not a pothead. Sure, I've smoked it (whoops, there goes my chance at a political career - ha), but it's just not a big deal with me. For me, personally, I could give a shit whether it's legal or not. Unlike with alcohol, which they can pry from my cold, dead fingers, it's not a personal concern.
However, I like to think that my political views go beyond what's good for me, personally, and look at the big picture.
In this case, the big picture includes:
 Billions of dollars of taxpayer money spent prosecuting a "war" against a substance that, while not as innocuous as its ardent supporters claim, is demonstrably less hazardous than the legal drugs of alcohol and tobacco and, arguably, less hazardous than many prescription drugs;
Flagrant violations of the fourth amendment through seizure of property of people busted for pot;
Thousands of nonviolent "criminals" clogging up prisons, again on taxpayer bill (granted, some of that is offset by the previous point);
The government missing out on a metric assload of tax revenue.
The people I mentioned earlier, who also support legalizing ganja? They deserve a safe, reliable source of weed. If you're going to ingest a substance, at least let it be as regulated as, say, alcohol.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/12/03/einstein-insanity-and-the-war-o...
Today's blog entry has been brought to you by the anniversary of Amendment XXI to the U.S. Constitution, which repealed Prohibition 75 years ago tomorrow. So I raise a glass in toast to this great anniversary, but not a bong.
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