|
opinion:
our view
Legalize hemp,
end the hypocrisy
More than any other
time in our nation's history, now is the time to make changes,
-- to burn bridges, make new starts and, above all, put an end
to some of our governments more closed-minded and hypocritical
laws.
A good place to
start perhaps would be the legalization of drugs.
In the Midwest,
farmers grow marijuana (illegally mind you) to keep themselves
afloat and have been doing so for many years already.
Farmers must grow
marijuana to make up the money they lose due to various natural
disasters over the years and the lack of federal help in recouping
their losses. Farmers turn to marijuana because it is easy
to grow and is obviously very profitable.
As for the government's
involvement, they can allow the growing of marijuana and use
the hemp for various things such fuel, rope and natural gas.
These things would not only be more economically viable than
what we are currently using, but are also more environmentally
safe.
The government
could tax the sale of marijuana much the way they tax cigarettes
already, and use that money to possibly help decrease our
countrys deficit. Plus, let's face it, cigarettes are just
plain more addictive than marijuana and that's a proven fact.
While all this
is going on, we then should start a clean needles program,
which would allow drug addicts to exchange their dirty needles
for clean ones, therefore alleviating their chances of contracting
AIDS, hepatitis or any other dangerous disease that racks
the addict community.
Contrary to popular
belief, the clean needles program is not about condoning or
supporting drug abuse. What the program really does is condone
cleanliness for those who have made the decision or are in
the situation of being junkies. You could almost liken it
to sex education or the handing out of condoms in schools,
-- nobody is condoning it, but if you're going to do it, then
at least be safe about it.
By taking these
beginning steps, the government could alleviate the hypocritical
stance it has taken to this point and become, for a change,
a progressive thinking country. This progressive thought would
put us on the level of countries like Holland where drugs
are legal and England, where it was recently announced they
would no longer make the possession of marijuana an arrestable
offense.
The war on drugs
is simply a political stance, for politicians who have an
agenda they are not willing to be completely honest about.
It's easy to say we're fighting drugs, but it's been documented
that we are losing this fight, -- or are we even really fighting?
Let's not forget
that California voters passed the use of medical marijuana,
so it is obvious that the uses are not all that bad. Cigarettes
are just as bad if not worse for you and yet they are still
completely legal in the United States.
We are not saying
legalize marijuana so we can smoke it in peace, what we are
saying is legalize marijuana to end the hypocrisy and fight
the real problems that exist in this country.
|
