Getting wrapped around the axle (and pass the Cheetos)

Thursday, November 8, 2012
So Colorado passed Amendment 64 on Tuesday, which basically legalized the use of recreational marijuana in the state.

As with most drug-related legislation, there were people on both sides of the issue just losing their shit. Here's a run-down of the arguments:

Pro. "Liberty! Revenue! Self-Determination! Cheetos!"

Con. "Drugs! Slippery Slope! Think of the Children!"

Mostly I don't give shit, although I thought it was pretty disingenuous of the writers of the Amendment to specify that portions of the tax revenue from selling recreational marijuana were to be used for education. Why bother, when smoking pot every day makes you dumber than a box of hammers anyway?

Both sides are missing some pretty salient points, in my opinion:
  • Just because the State of Colorado chooses to legalize recreational marijuana in the state doesn't mean the Feds have done so. And while watching the conservative "states' rights" crowd turn themselves into a Möbius strip in an effort to reconcile their contradictory viewpoints on this issue will provide excellent fodder for Jon Stewart, the fundamental conflict still remains. And given the choice between being prosecuted by Denver County for recreational possession ($1.00 fine) and being prosecuted by the Feds for recreational possession (federal offense), I'd take the fine.
  • Those who really wanted to smoke a bowl on the right side of the law were already doing so under Colorado's extremely liberal "medical marijuana" loophole. Seriously, if you were smart enough to poor pee out of a boot, you were doing this on a perfectly legal basis already.
I myself voted for the Amendment, for two reasons. First, I drink alcohol. While I don't have any desire to smoke pot (legally or otherwise), I don't consider it any better or worse than drinking alcohol responsibly on a recreational basis. The hypocrisy required for me to vote "no" on Amendment 64 while simultaneously ordering another delicious Lucky Cat Martini at P.F. Chang's is a bit more than I can tolerate.

Secondly, I'm that strange combination of tax and spend liberal and small "L" libertarian in that I really don't give a good goddamn what people do in terms of their personal life choices. I don't consider it to be any of my business, and to quote my buddy Rachael, "I think responsible adults should be able to do it legally if they want, and that our police and courts and prisons have better things to spend their time and money on than a bunch of potheads whose worst crime is bogarting the Fritos."

We'll see how the Fed versus State issue resolves itself, but really - I have better things to think about. 

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