unarguable argument.

because well get stoned and forget what we were gonna write then decide to do something else like smoke more and eventually well forget all about the essay

 

cuz nobody with any money or power will stand up and support it

 

Well, Woody Harrelson is a HUGE hemp and medical marijuana supporter. Eventually, once the first battles are fought and won he will probably fight to win the war for Marijuana's legalization. Baby-steps ya'll, baby-steps.

 

Then a lot of the hippies got into a lot of other stuff and the dream, fire, and desire slowly faded. A lot of people were there to fit in. and after awhile left the hippie movement to continue life as a regular joe. The numbers of marijuana legalization supporters are increasing. There are a lot in high places, and a lot in low places that are fightin the good fight. Theres also a lot of those ol' hippies that are still around, still fighting. The chances of it happening increase as more generations come around who support it. Over time it will be an american's common knowledge that the criminalization of marijuana was a racist and political move by the government to get mexican's out of America.

 

So what? Just give up? Fuck that. I don't care how impossible it is- never give up on what you believe is right.

 

We have people who have smoked pot getting into more and more positions now where they can affect things. Before, it was mostly hippees with little outside support. Now we have a few people sympathetic to our attitudes. Personally, I think if we keep working for 10-15 years, things will change. It may happen sooner, but I'm prepared for the long haul. We just need to get all the people who want the legislation reformed to actually do something instead of most of them sitting around and bitching about it.

 

Amen to that Wang.

 

I don't think we're in a situation similar to the 1970s. I also don't expect any progress on the legalization front at the national level in the near future. Let me explain.

Despite the fact that a few politicians in power smoked marijuana during their teenage years, the decriminalization/legalization battle is not one that they will attempt to fight if they want to remain in office. The neo-conservative religious right has a stranglehold on our government. Although they are not the nation's largest or best organized interest group (that distinction belongs to the AARP), their support can make or break a candidate's chances of winning an election in most parts of the country.

Because voter turnout among individuals who classify themselves as members of the religious right is substantially higher than that of ALL other groups, candidates must actively pursue their support by adopting their positions on issues like abortion, gay marriage, and drug policy if they want to stand any chance at all. Perhaps the most frightening fact about the current political landscape is that candidates must be unyielding in their support for the positions of the religious right if they want to excite members of the group to such a degree that they feel "called" to vote. It's not simply that politicians must state that they are opposed to legalization; instead, they must rant and rave about the evils of drugs and oppose all policies designed to diminish penalties for drug offenders. The only way to affect change in this country is to mobilize citizens who haven't been voting. If you want to help, start registering people in your community to vote, and encourage them to go to the polls.

Our country is without an interest group that is powerful enough to force politicians to recognize the irrationality of drug prohibition because the people who believe that drugs cause irreparable harm to society are much more vociferous in their opposition (and vote much more often) than the people who think otherwise.

VOTE. And encourage other likeminded citizens to do the same.