Love your writing & and I’m glad you did one for Keith. He’s incredible. I was on his 2A Cops podcast last year. He does great work.
Really enjoyed this article. But, I still disagree.
If marijuana is addictive & dangerous - and that’s the reason to not allow it recreationally. Ok. But, without the dual argument to also ban alcohol , sugar, pizza, soda, etc…- I don’t see how it passes muster.
•Lots of dangerous stuff out there - why only oppose marijuana? That’s my question.
I would love to see you debate / discuss this with A.J. Jacobs - (former Ariz State Trooper who does the Blue to Green podcast).
Thank you DC. Really appreciate the healthy dialogue. It is not easy for me to find anything to disagree with you about but this is it. Where I live in FL, our medical marijuana amendment from a few years ago is functionally a recreational waiver, all you need are some bucks and a shady doctor and you are off to the dispensary. Rescheduling cannabis at the federal level needs it to pass a well defined 5 category test (2 of those are 'safe' and 'effective' - remember them?) but it would have to be established as accepted in its medical application. Here is my dirty secret and it is key to 'why only oppose marijuana.' I don't care about hippies sparking up. I hope people who use marijuana do get real relief even if it can't be measured. My WHY will always be the youth, who are currently the most anxious generation, despite receiving the most counseling and therapy have shown to be more depressed than any generation in history. THC mixes poorly with anxiety - relevant case Jordan Nealy - yet it is provided to those who self diagnose with it. I would love to have a rich conversation with A.J. Jacobs and I don't doubt that I would agree with some of his points. (Last answer, it's not a ban argument - it is keeping something illegal illegal.)
I live in Oregon and up to about two years ago, was still fairly active with law enforcement as a sworn chaplain. (About the only thing I can do anymore.) I began my volunteer career in 1995 in Arizona, then continued here in Oregon up until about 2022. My leg can't handle more than about an hour of activity before it swells up and becomes very difficult to live with.
In the last several years, I was an armed ride-a-long with some very capable deputies.
What I saw taking place here in Oregon after Oregon voters passed measure 110 to declassify certain drugs (you know, the ones we all called hard drugs) is the rise of human misery. It all looks great on paper until it doesn't. Even our forest lands have suffered from the influx of out of state folks coming to the tune-in, turn-on and drop-out mecca that Oregon has become. Piles of trash, gutted cars, needles strewn everywhere in once majestic wildlands and public parks.
You rightly point out that alcohol is also addictive, but then seem to use the logical fallacy of one wrong justifies another. Last I checked, one bad decision doesn't justify making a second.
Marijuana, like alcohol, will always be out there. I for one would encourage keeping it on the CSA if only to preserve the current restraints. What we have seen in Oregon should demonstrate clearly that removal of penalties only serves to open the floodgates of abuse.
p.s. Pizza addictive? Jeeze. You need to share me the address / phone number of your supplier, the pizza we get out here is n-a-s-t-y.
My dad never drank or smoked. He had diabetes. 2 amputations. Still he ate like sh*t. Died a few years ago. Way too young.
I would argue that if he had a beer or a joint every now & then. Instead of pizza & donuts - he’d still be alive. But. I’m not advocating to outlaw pizza or donuts.
• So. That’s my question. If you consider alcohol to be a “wrong” - are you advocating to outlaw it as well? It’s a reasonable question. And usually the answer is “no”. So, I’m just asking why.
••I’m trying to make this argument make sense. Im trying to truly understand why people are opposed to marijuana legalization.
Truly sorry about your father. Watched a few warriors go down that same path as well and it's never pretty. Speaking for myself, sometimes a nice steak or a root beer float is the only thing we have to look forward to living with a messed up body all day. Never been a big fan of beer - do like an occasional glass of good whiskey though.
I'm not advocating as an abolitionist. I'm advocating for keeping the restraints in place. I've been in law enforcement long enough to tell the difference between what works and what doesn't as far as public policy goes, and what I've witnessed to date is that once you open the door for the gentle sheep, the entire zoo comes through.
Sometimes all we have are bad choices; all good options are unavailable. Like, everyone drinking responsibly and never abusing it. If that were an option on the ballot, everyone would vote yes. But we know there will always be abuse. Question then becomes, how much of it should we encourage?
Similarly, prostitution is legal in certain locations within Nevada. Is prostitution a good thing? If you had a son or daughter, would you like him or her to start selling their body? Your wife, your husband? Prostitution has been around as long as alcohol, why not legalize it everywhere too? And while we're at it, how about arguing for legalizing theft? Oh wait, California's already going there...never mind.
I reject the false logic of universal equivalency. We've already seen the outcomes.
22 years ago, a man chose to consume weed and alcohol and caused a serious accident that left me hospitalized and gave me a crushed ankle.
Later this month, I hope to put an end to the 22 years of pain and the inevitable other physical complications that have come with it to bed. I'm getting a full ankle replacement surgery.
Point is, I shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have had my very active lifestyle abruptly terminated. I shouldn't have had to take months off work, and endure over two decades of surgeries and additional pain. But I am lucky. Even though I cannot continue doing the things I once loved doing, I found other things to replace them, and I'm still breathing.
People will continue to make poor choices, legal or not, and these poor choices will continue to have both visible and invisible consequences. Driving while intoxicated or otherwise in an altered mental state has been illegal since way before I swore the oath. Yet, people flaunt and often ignore the law - even a number of our own.
Please DO NOT let our President to go un-counseled into swallowing the lies that Marijuana is somehow harmless or an any kind of innocent or 'recreational' drug. Anything that would put people into an altered mental state is going to give rise to more and more misery on the roads.
I have 22 years of serious pain on my resume as a result of someone's less than capable mental state.
It has been amply demonstrated that once de-criminalization takes place, the availability, ubiquity and subsequent abuse skyrockets.
Once upon a time, drug overdoses were infrequent and arguably rare on the streets of Portland. There are dozens each and every day now. As hard as the state government has tried, they can't hide all of the stats. Thankfully, steps to reverse measure 110's effects took place on September 1st with the signing into law HB 4002.
At least here in Oregon, we recognized that idiots talking on or texting with electronic devices result in more traffic accidents, so we did in fact criminalize that act.
Conflating cell phones with Marijuana is actually kind of silly. I advocate for keeping the flood gates closed, and for prosecution of breaking the law that we the people and our representatives have put in place. Oregon may be part of the looney left coast, but at least they learn from their crazier mistakes.
It seemed like you were citing your experience- being hit by an impaired idiot as evidence to keep marijuana illegal. I was just trying to see if the logic was consistent - if the cause was something different. Would you still advocate for a ban.
• Let’s agree that:
1) hard drugs should not be legal. Ever.
2) driving impaired is (and should be) illegal (on any substance) .. I was a DRE. I know how dangerous impaired driving is.
Love your writing & and I’m glad you did one for Keith. He’s incredible. I was on his 2A Cops podcast last year. He does great work.
Really enjoyed this article. But, I still disagree.
If marijuana is addictive & dangerous - and that’s the reason to not allow it recreationally. Ok. But, without the dual argument to also ban alcohol , sugar, pizza, soda, etc…- I don’t see how it passes muster.
•Lots of dangerous stuff out there - why only oppose marijuana? That’s my question.
I would love to see you debate / discuss this with A.J. Jacobs - (former Ariz State Trooper who does the Blue to Green podcast).
Thank you DC. Really appreciate the healthy dialogue. It is not easy for me to find anything to disagree with you about but this is it. Where I live in FL, our medical marijuana amendment from a few years ago is functionally a recreational waiver, all you need are some bucks and a shady doctor and you are off to the dispensary. Rescheduling cannabis at the federal level needs it to pass a well defined 5 category test (2 of those are 'safe' and 'effective' - remember them?) but it would have to be established as accepted in its medical application. Here is my dirty secret and it is key to 'why only oppose marijuana.' I don't care about hippies sparking up. I hope people who use marijuana do get real relief even if it can't be measured. My WHY will always be the youth, who are currently the most anxious generation, despite receiving the most counseling and therapy have shown to be more depressed than any generation in history. THC mixes poorly with anxiety - relevant case Jordan Nealy - yet it is provided to those who self diagnose with it. I would love to have a rich conversation with A.J. Jacobs and I don't doubt that I would agree with some of his points. (Last answer, it's not a ban argument - it is keeping something illegal illegal.)
I live in Oregon and up to about two years ago, was still fairly active with law enforcement as a sworn chaplain. (About the only thing I can do anymore.) I began my volunteer career in 1995 in Arizona, then continued here in Oregon up until about 2022. My leg can't handle more than about an hour of activity before it swells up and becomes very difficult to live with.
In the last several years, I was an armed ride-a-long with some very capable deputies.
What I saw taking place here in Oregon after Oregon voters passed measure 110 to declassify certain drugs (you know, the ones we all called hard drugs) is the rise of human misery. It all looks great on paper until it doesn't. Even our forest lands have suffered from the influx of out of state folks coming to the tune-in, turn-on and drop-out mecca that Oregon has become. Piles of trash, gutted cars, needles strewn everywhere in once majestic wildlands and public parks.
You rightly point out that alcohol is also addictive, but then seem to use the logical fallacy of one wrong justifies another. Last I checked, one bad decision doesn't justify making a second.
Marijuana, like alcohol, will always be out there. I for one would encourage keeping it on the CSA if only to preserve the current restraints. What we have seen in Oregon should demonstrate clearly that removal of penalties only serves to open the floodgates of abuse.
p.s. Pizza addictive? Jeeze. You need to share me the address / phone number of your supplier, the pizza we get out here is n-a-s-t-y.
My dad never drank or smoked. He had diabetes. 2 amputations. Still he ate like sh*t. Died a few years ago. Way too young.
I would argue that if he had a beer or a joint every now & then. Instead of pizza & donuts - he’d still be alive. But. I’m not advocating to outlaw pizza or donuts.
• So. That’s my question. If you consider alcohol to be a “wrong” - are you advocating to outlaw it as well? It’s a reasonable question. And usually the answer is “no”. So, I’m just asking why.
••I’m trying to make this argument make sense. Im trying to truly understand why people are opposed to marijuana legalization.
Truly sorry about your father. Watched a few warriors go down that same path as well and it's never pretty. Speaking for myself, sometimes a nice steak or a root beer float is the only thing we have to look forward to living with a messed up body all day. Never been a big fan of beer - do like an occasional glass of good whiskey though.
I'm not advocating as an abolitionist. I'm advocating for keeping the restraints in place. I've been in law enforcement long enough to tell the difference between what works and what doesn't as far as public policy goes, and what I've witnessed to date is that once you open the door for the gentle sheep, the entire zoo comes through.
Sometimes all we have are bad choices; all good options are unavailable. Like, everyone drinking responsibly and never abusing it. If that were an option on the ballot, everyone would vote yes. But we know there will always be abuse. Question then becomes, how much of it should we encourage?
Similarly, prostitution is legal in certain locations within Nevada. Is prostitution a good thing? If you had a son or daughter, would you like him or her to start selling their body? Your wife, your husband? Prostitution has been around as long as alcohol, why not legalize it everywhere too? And while we're at it, how about arguing for legalizing theft? Oh wait, California's already going there...never mind.
I reject the false logic of universal equivalency. We've already seen the outcomes.
Yes!
22 years ago, a man chose to consume weed and alcohol and caused a serious accident that left me hospitalized and gave me a crushed ankle.
Later this month, I hope to put an end to the 22 years of pain and the inevitable other physical complications that have come with it to bed. I'm getting a full ankle replacement surgery.
Point is, I shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have had my very active lifestyle abruptly terminated. I shouldn't have had to take months off work, and endure over two decades of surgeries and additional pain. But I am lucky. Even though I cannot continue doing the things I once loved doing, I found other things to replace them, and I'm still breathing.
People will continue to make poor choices, legal or not, and these poor choices will continue to have both visible and invisible consequences. Driving while intoxicated or otherwise in an altered mental state has been illegal since way before I swore the oath. Yet, people flaunt and often ignore the law - even a number of our own.
Please DO NOT let our President to go un-counseled into swallowing the lies that Marijuana is somehow harmless or an any kind of innocent or 'recreational' drug. Anything that would put people into an altered mental state is going to give rise to more and more misery on the roads.
I have 22 years of serious pain on my resume as a result of someone's less than capable mental state.
Please spare someone else this same fate.
Even if marijuana is legalized.
It would still be illegal to drive impaired.
No one is advocating to allow impaired driving - on any substance.
If you were hit by an idiot on his cell phone - would you advocate to make cell phones illegal?
It has been amply demonstrated that once de-criminalization takes place, the availability, ubiquity and subsequent abuse skyrockets.
Once upon a time, drug overdoses were infrequent and arguably rare on the streets of Portland. There are dozens each and every day now. As hard as the state government has tried, they can't hide all of the stats. Thankfully, steps to reverse measure 110's effects took place on September 1st with the signing into law HB 4002.
At least here in Oregon, we recognized that idiots talking on or texting with electronic devices result in more traffic accidents, so we did in fact criminalize that act.
Conflating cell phones with Marijuana is actually kind of silly. I advocate for keeping the flood gates closed, and for prosecution of breaking the law that we the people and our representatives have put in place. Oregon may be part of the looney left coast, but at least they learn from their crazier mistakes.
It seemed like you were citing your experience- being hit by an impaired idiot as evidence to keep marijuana illegal. I was just trying to see if the logic was consistent - if the cause was something different. Would you still advocate for a ban.
• Let’s agree that:
1) hard drugs should not be legal. Ever.
2) driving impaired is (and should be) illegal (on any substance) .. I was a DRE. I know how dangerous impaired driving is.