Legalize It

I’ve been contemplating for a few days what would make a good post on this blog. I really have no idea where to even begin with all the problems we’ve got going on in the world nowadays. I don’t know if my focus should be on CEO bonuses, starving babies in Africa, diamond mines in Russia, or the extinction of the polar bear. However, after much thought and consideration, I’ve decided that I’m going to write about an issue very close to my heart (and the hearts of the other stoned asses that read this thing).

The issue at hand is the legalization of marijuana (street name; dope, weed, herb, chronic, tree, pot, dirt, plus countless others). I cannot for the life of me understand why this plant has not been legalized. First of all, to “legalize it” would completely revive our economy. That’s the overall point I’m trying to make in this rant. All of this is purely speculated* but I’ve thought a lot about this stuff over my countless years as a recreational dope smoker, and now that our nation’s economy has really hit the skids, I think the time for change is now or never. Because we are in dire need of economic help in both our governmental and our private sectors today, legalizing marijuana should really be considered as more than just an absurd wish.

The first people that would be resuscitated by legalizing this crop would be the farmers. I find this especially appealing to those of us born and bred in Kentucky; being a descendant of the tobacco industry myself, I have seen in the last 10 years how the dissolving of the cigarette industry has truly affected agricultural families. Once affluent families in my hometown who owned tobacco farms and warehouses are now filing for bankruptcy or selling their land, and many of them are forced to take jobs at minimum wage, working at that godforsaken hell-hole we know as Wal-Mart.

If marijuana was legalized, these farm families would actually have a chance at continuing the professions they know and were born to do. Imagine if you will; my collective stoners and straight-edgers alike, if the amount of science, ingenuity and initiative put into growing corn, soybeans or tobacco was used on marijuana. The shit they have in Amsterdam wouldn’t even get looked at twice if Kentucky farmers actually got their hands on some goods seeds and got them in the soils they’ve grown crops on for generations.

To look at an angle different than that of our farmers, the effect it would have on our manufacturing and shipping industries would also be very significant. I mean this legalized marijuana wouldn’t go from the field to your lungs by itself. It would have to be cured, packaged and distributed somehow. Legalizing marijuana would effectively jump-start our stalled economy like a little wake-and-bake after an alcohol induced blackout.

Another point I would like to make on how legalizing marijuana would revive our economy involves the issue of sales tax. Everyone knows how much gasoline and cigarettes are taxed right? Simply put, about half of what you pay for gas and cigs is purely tax revenue. To parlay this fact to dope, I know I’d be more than willing to double up on a fifty sack or whatever means I’m buying if I could smoke that bitch on Cheapside’s patio or in front of Rosebud’s without the fear of being arrested and impounded. What I’m trying to say is that the tax generated by the legal sale of marijuana would be such a source of governmental income, that this 10 trillion dollar national debt our generation is about to inherit would rapidly start to disappear.

Let’s consider national spending for a second. If marijuana was legalized, the war on drugs would basically come to an end. How much do the feds spend on this “war”? I don’t have any idea but I’m sure it’s staggering. I’m sure it’s in the billions of dollars…. PER YEAR! Imagine if that was cut out of our nation’s budget. It would relieve some of this ridiculous governmental spending that we’ve all had to face the harsh realities of the past few months. Also consider the fact that without an illegal underground marijuana market, there would be a reduction in the amount of dangerous criminals entering and being created in our country.

Just think, if marijuana was legalized, people also wouldn’t need to experiment with truly devastating drugs, i.e. meth, crack, etc. and just peacefully go smoke some grass.

*This is just a starting point for a piece I’ve wanted to write for a long time. Cut me a break if you think its lame or just way off (hell, I was stoned when I wrote it). Any advice or statistics would be much appreciated….