Pubdate: Tue, 31 May 2016
Source: Times Argus (Barre, VT)
Copyright: 2016 Times Argus
Contact: http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=OPINION03
Website: http://www.timesargus.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/893
Author: Tom King

BOOZE AND POT

Most people enjoy a cold drink in the hot summer weather. For a lot 
of them, a cold beer or mixed drink is their choice. Alcoholic drinks 
known as mixed drinks are a popular way to imbibe with an adult 
beverage. But, some things do not mix well together. For example, 
recreational marijuana and politics do not mix as well as a gin and 
tonic. The politicians cannot and will not agree to legalization of 
marijuana. From President Obama on down, they all agree not to 
legalize pot. The president cites his concern for kids getting legal 
pot, and that it's a drug and drugs are bad for your health. He says 
he cares about your health and that you should not use pot. So, why 
would he want it to be legal?

The problem with his statements regarding legalization of pot is that 
compared to alcohol, marijuana is a distant 10th place in the ranking 
of harmful drugs. Yet, these drugs and booze are all legal. DWI 
drivers who are drunk with too much booze kill thousands of people 
each year, but booze remains legal. The police say they are against 
legalization of pot, too. Yet, they are the ones out there having to 
deal with all the drunk drivers, bar fights, domestic violence and 
other crimes all related to booze - not pot. The president and the 
police all say that marijuana is not a priority for arrests. The 
president made this clear and so did the mayor and chief of police in 
New York City. If not a criminal "priority," then why is it not legal?

The plan for law enforcement and the politicians is to keep pot from 
becoming legal, but make it decriminalized for small amounts. Don't 
throw potheads in jail or bother to arrest them. Keep them being 
paranoid. That way, pot users have to hide away somewhere to smoke it 
and sneak around to obtain it. It stays out of the public eye and out 
of the politician's line of sight. Out of sight and out of mind is 
the general idea from our leaders and police. How you obtain it is 
your problem.

So, who are these marijuana users? They are not Wall Street brokers, 
not NYC businessmen, not CEOs, not senators or congressmen, and 
certainly not driving BMWs or Cadillacs. So, who are they? They do 
not want you to know who they are for obvious reasons. That's exactly 
the way politicians want it. Are they invisible? Maybe they are just 
regular working people. Nothing really important or special about 
them can be seen or heard.

The vast majority of Americans agree that booze is much worse for you 
than pot. Pot is illegal, and booze is cheap, legal and easy to get. 
So, what is going on here? Why is pot still on the federal illegal 
drug list and booze is not? The people who make up this list do not 
use marijuana. Their drug of choice is booze. That's right, they want 
alcohol, not pot. These politicians are swayed by pharmaceutical 
lobbyists who detest pot and want it to stay where it is. Medical 
marijuana is their biggest nightmare. Besides, pot is not their drug 
of choice either.

Tom King

Shaftsbury
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom