Greetings!
Yesterday was a good day for Oregon because a completely useless and damaging law was changed. While I won’t be rushing out to exercise this new found freedom, I’m happy for other reasons. The idea that a plant that has grown easily and anywhere for millions of years could be made illegal is an affront to rational lawmaking. In Oregon, this nonsensical 78-year-long Prohibition was overturned when citizens quit waiting on politicians and created a ballot initiative that eventually passed 56% to 43%. This victory for citizen-driven government would be enough to celebrate on its own, but the upsides to legal pot go far beyond that…
I really don’t think we’ll see much increase in the actual use of the drug. Look around… anyone who wants to use pot can already find it. Medical users have had access to marijuana since 1998 and recreational users have no shortage of ‘dudes’ they can buy from. The facts that The Weed Blog lists the “Best Marijuana Events in 2015” (not just the events, but the best events) or that Portland hosts an annual Hempstalk festival among other pot-related events show that society has been living quite easily with marijuana use for a long time now. I don’t foresee a sudden surge in native Oregon stoners.
One of the things we will see is an improvement in law and policing. The negative impact of marijuana use is negligible, but the negative impact of marijuana law has left a trail of broken lives for decades. Believe it or not, there are still people serving life sentences for non-violent pot offenses! Even a person lucky enough not to do prison time for a pot arrest still carries the stigma of an arrest record with them for life, strangling their potential in a way the drug itself could never do. With marijuana legalized, police, prosecutors, and judges can quit wasting their time and our taxpayer dollars on pot and can return to protecting us from the violent and economic crimes that actually do destroy lives.
But the social and judicial benefits aren’t all… there are new job opportunities and money to be made as well! The State of Oregon estimates they’ll receive up to $40 million per year from legal weed. That’s money that could go to education, infrastructure repair, environmental cleanup, or a host of other priorities that politicians are too spineless to fund from other sources. Money to fund needed programs is good but what is better is more dollars flowing thru our local economies. An entire new economy will spring up around farming, distribution, sales, testing, and more. These new jobs and new business support product demands will put money into the pockets of local people to spend. It’s an economy Oregon is creating from nothing, and the people of Oregon will continue to reap the benefits for decades to come.
Today Oregon follows Washington and Colorado into a new paradigm; where adults can get a little euphoric without the paranoia, and where our State can profit without having to pinch pennies from the poorest among us. It’s a reality that the citizens of Oregon decided, on their own, to create. I think it’s a reality a lot of other states will be following us into very soon.
Take Care and Make a Great Day!
