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September 27, 2009
More on Legalization
The theme of the just-concluded 38th annual NORML Convention in San Francisco was “Yes, we cannabis,” clearly expressing the hope our embattled new chief executive will somehow find the time and political capital to support pot “legalization” between bruising battles over medical care, our economic woes, and worsening problems in Afghanistan.On Friday evening, I was a guest at a private dinner traditionally hosted by a wealthy reform supporter; thus I had a few minutes to sound the same cautionary note as in the last blog entry: don't assume the economic strength of the medical gray market is tantamount to political support for legalization. I could tell it wasn’t that well received by all, but felt obligated to deliver it anyway.
Ironically, the same message was delivered by a local columnist in yesterday’s SF Chronicle, but for different reasons. He also considers conferee enthusiasm misplaced and unrealistic; not for lack of support from Washington, but from Fresno. While I may decry the reasons, there’s no denying he's right. As long as "recreational” pot use by adolescents is feared by the general public, they won’t support its “legalization.”
In other words, they have to understand that their offspring are at least as likely to try drugs during adolescence as they were themselves. The unlikely truth, still distorted by forty years of federal propaganda, is that of all the drugs adolescents might try, cannabis is clearly the safest; especially in comparison with the two that are legal: booze and cigarettes.
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at September 27, 2009 01:40 PM