If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If the conversation at your Thanksgiving dinner gets boring, you should feel comfortable bringing up marijuana legalization. It's been all over the news since Election Day and public opinion about marijuana legalization is changing rapidly.
As soon as legalization passed, some of the most vocal opponents of marijuana legalization -- people who smoke pot, usually under the protection of their state's medical use law -- jumped on the bandwagon as soon as money could be made.
Are we supposed to burst into song and dance lauding the democratic spirit because four out of 50 states pulled a majority to allow civil rights and ration basic freedoms?
The most important vote on November 6 was not reelecting Barack Obama as president. It was legalizing marijuana in Colorado and Washington. The fight over drug policy will go on for a long time. But the Drug War is ending.
With the passage of Question 3 on the November 6 ballot, the Massachusetts voters legalized the use of medical marijuana, "smoking" that question by a two-to-one margin. And it's about time.
Whether or not Washington State and Colorado move forward with regulating marijuana like alcohol will depend on two things: how the Obama administration, federal prosecutors and police agencies respond; and how elected officials commit to the will of the people.
For those who have made the "pot plunge" and quit drinking, the benefits outweigh any stigma. "I never thought I'd say this but pot makes my head feel less muddled than booze," one woman told me, adding with a smile, "and it makes sex incredible."
Karl Rove is now a laughingstock. But he remains a power-broker in Republican politics based on work that others began more than 30 years earlier, in the 70s, to create his party's conservative voting base.
Seriously, a man running for the most powerful office in the country didn't bother to plan for one of the two contingencies that were guaranteed to happen last night? And he wanted us to let him make crucial decisions for all of us?
Even as the federal government persists with its failed drug war strategy, the United States has now emerged as the global leader in promoting more sensible policies with respect to marijuana.
Dear Mr. President: Congratulations on your election victory. While you prepare for another four years in office, I ask you to step back and look at ...
Our country is moving forward in terms of open-mindedness and progressive ideals and finally -- albeit, slowly -- catching up to our neighbors to the north in Canada and many allies in Europe.
In every corner of our state we weighed and debated the issue, broke down the economic and human costs of marijuana prohibition, and, in the end, decided that regulating adult possession of the weed was a very smart thing for us to do.
After exploring the world, travel writer and TV host Rick Steves' next trip is to legalize marijuana in Washington state.
Today, we're just going to throw caution to the wind, and go ahead and predict the outcome of tomorrow night's returns.
