"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the Prohibition law, for nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced."-Albert Einstein 1921-People have been using drugs recreationally and to alter their consciousness for at least 10,000 years. With booze everywhere and a pill for every ill, it's not all drugs that the government deems dangerous. Drugs like booze and tobacco, whose industries use huge profits to buy the politicians' support, are everywhere. Meanwhile if you're a pot head, look out. Guess the moral here is that the pot heads should get out there and buy some votes, its the 'democratic way'.
It's hard for me to understand why the police aren't leading the charge towards the legalization of marijuana. Every day the respect for law and order diminishes, large portions of the population no longer trust or cooperate with the police. Every day our lives are made more dangerous by the diverting of meager police resources away from real crime, the kind with a victim. Instead the police waste much of their time chasing around basically honest citizens who are growing and smoking the same herbs their ancestors did thousands of years ago.
The church is confused about what's a sin and what's a crime. When church leaders lecture believers from their bully pulpit about the sin of mind-altering that's fine, but when they foist their version of ethics on the rest of us it goes against the seperation of church and state. Look into the subject yourself, educate yourself, pass on what you learn to your children. As a father, one of my fears is that my children will end up brainwashed by the 'just say no' message.
Drugs are like guns or cars, they are dangerous, but they're not of themselves evil. How could they be, they're just a thing, it's us who imbue them with qualities like good and evil. Like cars or guns, our children need honest education on everything surrounding the drug issue. Will they learn the difference between a six-pack of beer with friends up the back road and chugging a bottle of whiskey from the church-state propaganda? Don't think so. 'Just Say No' means a joint is the same as shooting heroin.
We need honest information not propaganda designed to coddle the status quo. Pot legalization is a great place to start the evolution of our culture from one based on greed and fear to one based on compassion for all. From one based on materialism to one based on equality for all and the ethic of 'do unto others as you'd have them do unto you'.
