Today is 4/20, making it a perfect time to again comment on the movement to decriminalize and expand the availability of cannabis in America. You know, marijuana, the drug that is safer than alcohol but treated like cocaine.
We're up to ten states now that have legalized marijuana in some non-medical way. Ten now, but what will it take to get to twenty and beyond?
Unfortunately, while the polls continue to show an increasing majority of Americans support marijuana legalization, the federal government and most states still don't allow it. They don't even allow medical marijuana usage, which has an even larger majority of American support.
So, what gives? Let's just use my home (red) state of Iowa as an example. It has a Republican governor and legislature, so even though legalization is popular overall, it isn't so popular inside their conservative constituencies. The Rs basically have a bend-but-don't-break attitude, where they act like they're doing something without actually doing anything.
For example, Iowa does some medical cannabis usage through a few approved dispensaries, but prescriptions can only be filled with minimal amounts of THC. It's so little, in fact, Iowa isn't even considered a medical marijuana state. This in spite of calls by doctors and pharmacists to increase the maximum THC dosage.
This is the worst, dumbest way to do things, because lots of effort produces zero positive results. People / patients aren't getting better, and the state gets no tax revenue. The fact that a neighboring state (Illinois) this year legalized cannabis just makes it even worse / dumber, since motivated Iowans simply drive across the border. The result is, the people get what they want, but another state benefits from the commerce.
In the end, Iowa and other non-cannabis states would be better off financially just not allowing any marijuana usage, rather than limiting it the way they are. Of course, if they legalized it, those states would see a multi-million dollar tax revenue bonanza -- but since the Rs don't want to look so bad politically, they do things one drip at a time, showcasing the insanity of their ways
One small irony in all of this is that Iowa does consider its dispensaries to be essential businesses, so they remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an effective, natural drug that could help everyone through the pandemic, not only physically but mentally? And regulated selling of that same drug could create millions in tax revenue being lost by the state due to the same pandemic?
Maybe by next 4/20.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Compliance Versus Defiance
In the midst of the enormous health crisis that is the coronavirus pandemic, it’s sad there is so much political fire being exchanged. It’s actually necessary due to the disgraceful way the executive branch has denied the pandemic and mismanaged the response, but it’s still sad.
Not to pile on the sadness, but at the 30,000 foot level, there is a least one new political truth that has been brought into sharp focus. That is, that Democrats have become the party of compliance, while Republicans have become the party of defiance.
It hasn’t been like this since, well, ever. Democrats are supposed to be the liberal ones, fighting against the status quo. Does anybody around here remember the battles (both real and figurative) of the 1960s and 1970s, not to mention the progressive, Medicare-for-all movements of the now? And Republicans have always been the party of don’t-change conservatism, supposedly more obedient to the law.
The pandemic changed that. When it came time to follow the advice of the medical experts, to take precautions, to stay home, to avoid people…..it was Democrats who were quick to comply. Meanwhile, led by the misinformation of their chief executive and conservative media, the Republicans were slow to act. They thought they were smarter than the experts, who weren’t going to tell them what to do.
Only three or so weeks into this thing, we know compliance saves lives, while defiance costs lives. While it’s been awful to have watched this happening in real time, there may be one very small consolation – defiance is more likely to thin the herd of the defiant ones, at least for the future.
Not to pile on the sadness, but at the 30,000 foot level, there is a least one new political truth that has been brought into sharp focus. That is, that Democrats have become the party of compliance, while Republicans have become the party of defiance.
It hasn’t been like this since, well, ever. Democrats are supposed to be the liberal ones, fighting against the status quo. Does anybody around here remember the battles (both real and figurative) of the 1960s and 1970s, not to mention the progressive, Medicare-for-all movements of the now? And Republicans have always been the party of don’t-change conservatism, supposedly more obedient to the law.
The pandemic changed that. When it came time to follow the advice of the medical experts, to take precautions, to stay home, to avoid people…..it was Democrats who were quick to comply. Meanwhile, led by the misinformation of their chief executive and conservative media, the Republicans were slow to act. They thought they were smarter than the experts, who weren’t going to tell them what to do.
Only three or so weeks into this thing, we know compliance saves lives, while defiance costs lives. While it’s been awful to have watched this happening in real time, there may be one very small consolation – defiance is more likely to thin the herd of the defiant ones, at least for the future.
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