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April 12, 2009

The Beginning of the End?

I must admit that although I’ve been buoyed recently by increasing evidence that the idea of legal pot is making headway, I still considered it a long way over the horizon.

Thus another newspaper item, one I hadn't known of in advance, and on the front page of today’s SF Chronicle, really caught me by surprise. The author isn’t that well known to me, but she had always struck me as a seasoned political writer, one not not given to idle speculation. I was also impressed by a negative: the Chronicle's editorial policy toward medical pot had always been so conservative for the Bay Area, I assumed that if they opted for page one, it must be more than a rumor.

Before getting too carried a way however, it’s well to remember that the inroads 40 years of aggressive pot prohibition have already made on intelligent behavior in America argue against a smooth transition. In fact, trouble is almost guaranteed from correctional officers who will be looking at job cuts and those who will have to sort out which prisoners should be granted either amnesty or early release.

I've also been so sickened by the unfair and punitive convictions that have been handed out by both federal and state courts to some medical users in California, it makes me almost physically ill to think about them and the casual cruelty traceable to a stupid law. Nor is my contempt for punitive types who remain insistent on punishing pot “criminals” severely liable to go away in a hurry.

But I'm also ready for change; it's way overdue.

Doctor Tom

Posted by tjeffo at April 12, 2009 10:38 PM

Comments

Posted by: oprina tiberiu at April 14, 2009 09:51 PM