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The way we see it…
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On May 3, at Julia Davis Park, marijuana-loving Idahoans will participate in a global march to legalize pot (occurring in 229 cities worldwide). Around this time of year, marijuana users everywhere come out of the closet and into the mainstream, chanting “We’re here, we’re high, get over it.”
Marijuana is an illegal substance. The strange thing is there is so much unabashed discussion by admitted users. Shouldn’t people be wary of confessions of use or abuse? Apparently not. No one in our recent experience seems particularly uncomfortable with disclosures of toking up.
Perhaps we started to accept the idea of legalizing pot when celebrities such as Bill Maher or George Carlin openly admitted to smoking ganja and are quick to point out the fact that the side affects of pot are far less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, which are both legal substances.
Hollywood certainly seems to have played a role in the societal acceptance of pot; silver screen producers have the stoner movie down to a “T.” It’s unfortunate that users of marijuana are so often portrayed as mindless, stuttering fools. From the archetype-setting Cheech and Chong, to the jail-escaping stoners of “Half-Baked,” the typical dope fiend is rarely portrayed in a positive intellectual light. Although the movies may portray stoned stupidity fairly well, they ignore the reality that pot is widespread and is even used by some contemporary geniuses, i.e. Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman (Nobel Prize laureate physicist, founder of quantum electrodynamics), Bill Gates insinuated that he had and an enormous amount of extremely talented actors/writers/musicians openly admit to it. Does this mean we should legalize it?
We’ve thought about it: legalization will mean incredibly strict governmental guidelines and, as John Dewey said, “government is the shadow of business cast on society.” Those who have the economic power to grow and maintain commercial marijuana crops would undoubtedly control the interests of trading marijuana as a commodity.
None among us want to see the weed equivalent of Joe Camel or the St. Pauli Girl, but advertising and commercialization will undoubtedly go hand in hand with any legalization of the leafy substance. Sure, those among us who already use pot would continue to buy it, and perhaps those who don’t would feel more comfortable purchasing and trying the stuff out.
Could this mean a possible economy boost? Perhaps. Talk about an economic stimulus package … and hell, considering the Dubyah’s past, the chief executive himself might take a little “stimulus package” of his own.