Pothead Politics: Marijuana and the Leftist Agenda

Written by Gary Aldrich
Saturday, December 04, 2004

Will medical marijuana become a reality throughout the nation? Will those who push the use of marijuana for medical reasons prevail over the federal government in those states where the laws have been relaxed? There is a good chance the medical pot-heads will eventually win this cultural battle.

Their victory will be achieved if conservatives have forgotten how to frame their arguments so as to ensure victory. We also can lose because, like children, liberals never have learned to respond properly to the word, ''No!'' And, like so many parents, we get worn down and weary of arguing with people who act like children.

The current debate in the courts is about which laws we will obey as a nation. In states where the use of pot for ''sick'' people is allowed, the federal laws against marijuana, and other dangerous drugs, rules. So in order to stop the feds from crashing through their doors, busting up their pot-growing operations, the citizens of those states have taken Uncle Sam to the Supreme Court.

The liberals or libertarians argue that pot is not such a bad drug, and they are, in turn, supported by the millions of Americans who tried pot in high school or college and didn't turn into drug-crazed monsters. Their lives were not destroyed, and, in fact, many enjoyed the experience enough to do it over and over again, thus risking arrest and their chance to take a federal job or go to a military academy where their drug use could become a major issue in a background investigation.

Even so, after eight years of the man who ''never inhaled,'' <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1ERSONNAME>B</ST1ERSONNAME>ill Clinton, and his staff, upwards of 25%, who had some illegal drugs experience (some were still “using” on the day <ST1:CITY><ST1LACE>Clinton</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY> was inaugurated), employment policies concerning the experimental use of pot had to be relaxed out of necessity. Did prior drug use contribute to the overall lack of attention to laws, policies, and procedures in the dysfunctional Clinton White House?

It could not have helped.

The point is not how many people can try marijuana and still maintain an otherwise normal lifestyle. Just as in the case of other illegal drugs, the real point is how many people become addicted and, in the process, destroy their lives and the lives of family and friends around them.

Those who have had an addict living with them or near them -- perhaps a loved one -- know exactly what I am saying here. While 9 out of 10 drug users can smoke pot or snort cocaine and return to their normal life, one cannot. That one becomes addicted and unlike alcohol, drugs can quickly damage brain cells and cause the addict a lifetime of mental and physical health problems that never go away.

Marijuana is also a sneaky drug. It's considered a gateway drug because once the casual user smokes it and enjoys its ''benefits'' without a serious consequence, the user concludes that the same could be true for other, more serious drugs. Thus the escalation begins and, for so many poor souls, their lives completely unravel. To feed their out-of-control drug habit, the addict often turns to a life of crime. After they have begged, borrowed, and stolen money and valuables from their friends and families, their future becomes the life of a serious criminal, and prison cannot be far behind.

The looting of family and friends often results in the loss of support from those closest to the addict, thus the user-addict's only companions end up being fellow users. Very few can break their drug habits, and their lives are irreversibly destroyed.

I know the unvarnished truth about marijuana in a professional and personal way. Many of the criminals I jailed hooked on some sort of drug, having started their sad journey with alcohol, then marijuana--but I also have two addicted relatives whose lives are forever stunted physically, and mentally. Full recovery for both is not expected, and one suffers a permanent heart condition because of the use of cocaine. Their permanent disabilities will likely shorten their lives and dictate how they live in the meantime.

I also have a close friend whose relative stuck the family fortune--and it was considerable--right up his nose as he snorted cocaine for decades. All the money is now gone, and he still uses.

Pushing to legalize marijuana is the best evidence of the remarkable, deadly selfishness of your average, self-centered liberal. They know the above facts better than most because many of their close friends have become addicts, and their lives were destroyed.

Yet selfish, self-centered liberals don't care about any of that--they just want their marijuana, cocaine, or whatever designer drug is in fashion. What they won't admit is that many cannot enjoy their sexual activities without using the drugs--this is the dirty little secret that nobody wants to talk about. The effects of marijuana and cocaine are often more powerful than Viagra. The liberal guy pushes drug use because everyone knows drugs sweep away a woman's natural reluctance to behave like a barnyard goat.

Will the Supreme Court say ''yes'' to the use of marijuana in medical circumstances? If so, will the liberals be satisfied? Will the 80% of us who never used illegal drugs and never will, be allowed to continue to enforce laws that were created to maintain a civil, decent society? Or will the liberals continue to push the limits like they did with abortion, until the medical reasons to use marijuana include lessening the ''stresses'' of life, or for the prevention of the effects of the ''inconveniences of life?''

I think we already know the answer, and conservatives should not budge one inch on this issue. We have ceded enough ground to the selfish, self-centered, and often deadly liberals who really don't give a damn what happens to their brothers and sisters.

They just want their drugs.



About the Writer: Gary Aldrich is the author of "Unlimited Access" and "Thunder on the Left," and is president and founder of the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, whose website is at http://www.patrickhenrycenter.org.