The argument against prohibition of marijuana Marijuana legalization is not a new development. Advocacy groups such as NORML (the national organization for the reform of marijuana laws) have existed since 1970, their goal being to influence reform of regressive anti-drug laws. Only in the past ten to twenty years has legalization for both medical, and non-medical recreational use made headway in the United States. Some notable victories being Colorado and Washington State, where weed is now legal. Despite growing numbers of supporters in favor of legalization there remain some who oppose legalization. A recent example would be the article written by Psychotherapist Dr. Howard Samuels, for the website Huffington post. In the article Samuels
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You know, the one I mentioned earlier in my report, the one that you cant sell to minors, or drunk people, and that has specific rules against advertising to kids. Yes, Its alcohol! He literally wants the same thing as the pro legalization crowd, with the exception that he wants it sold in designated zones. He acts like it’s a completely different category when it isn’t! If, (and in my opinion when) weed is legalized then of course there will be laws against advertising for it on TV or the radio. You can’t do that with tobacco now. And of course a drunk or blitzed out person couldn’t shamble into a convenience store and buy weed, you can’t sell alcohol to a drunk person now! Samuels is acting like this would be the end of world, as if legalizing a plant for consumption would be the sounding trumpet of the apocalypse, that the world would become some sort of reefer madness inspired version of mad max, when in actuality nothing would change, except that we wouldn’t have overflowing prisons full of people who got caught with an ounce of weed and the show “leave it to beaver” would be a lot funnier (why are the only black people in Beaverton really racist caricatures?)
To address Samuel’s final point. Yes, some people will use legal weed as a crutch to avoid facing their problems. Is this bad? Yes, of course it’s bad to use recreational drugs to avoid your problems. Should it be Illegal? No! It’s impossible to do that. A lot of people use alcohol as a coping mechanism, they hate their jobs so they power through the day then either binge drink on the weekend or have a few after they get home. This is unhealthy behavior but just because it’s bad for people doesn’t mean it should be
You know, the one I mentioned earlier in my report, the one that you cant sell to minors, or drunk people, and that has specific rules against advertising to kids. Yes, Its alcohol! He literally wants the same thing as the pro legalization crowd, with the exception that he wants it sold in designated zones. He acts like it’s a completely different category when it isn’t! If, (and in my opinion when) weed is legalized then of course there will be laws against advertising for it on TV or the radio. You can’t do that with tobacco now. And of course a drunk or blitzed out person couldn’t shamble into a convenience store and buy weed, you can’t sell alcohol to a drunk person now! Samuels is acting like this would be the end of world, as if legalizing a plant for consumption would be the sounding trumpet of the apocalypse, that the world would become some sort of reefer madness inspired version of mad max, when in actuality nothing would change, except that we wouldn’t have overflowing prisons full of people who got caught with an ounce of weed and the show “leave it to beaver” would be a lot funnier (why are the only black people in Beaverton really racist caricatures?)
To address Samuel’s final point. Yes, some people will use legal weed as a crutch to avoid facing their problems. Is this bad? Yes, of course it’s bad to use recreational drugs to avoid your problems. Should it be Illegal? No! It’s impossible to do that. A lot of people use alcohol as a coping mechanism, they hate their jobs so they power through the day then either binge drink on the weekend or have a few after they get home. This is unhealthy behavior but just because it’s bad for people doesn’t mean it should be