Scared pigs are going to fly out my rear!

Scared Pigs are going to fly out of my rear!

By Edward Pines
2/25/2009

Like the saying goes, “When Pigs fly out of my rear”, the__________ will happen. I have heard this many times in my youth but two new statements lately lead me to believe “Pigs are going to fly out of my rear”. As we all know on November 4th, 2008 the first African American United States President was elected. As a young American, only 26 I remember when we talked about this (in an all white school, in a all white neighborhood) like it was a myth; or on the level of California falling off into the ocean during an earthquake, but it happened and now we are amidst a African American Presidency, pretty cool I think. However, this is not what concerns me regarding the pigs. What concerns me delightfully is the fact a California Lawmaker (SF) proposed possibly legalizing Marijuana the same way Alcohol is regulated. The ability for a 21 year old tax paying American to purchase Marijuana, a harmless (if used responsibly) substance that could generate up to an estimate 1.3 billion dollars for the state, is a wonderful, if not brilliant idea that could benefit the state and local communities in a way completely contradictory to the common (mis)-perception of Marijuana and the Medical Marijuana community.
As a Medical Marijuana Person (MMJ) I can relate to those who see this as a harmless substance, not the “criminal substance”, criminals like Michael Phelps, President Barrack Obama and Former President Bill Clinton did or did not inhale. Don’t even get me started on the reported stories of the early founder’s use. What we have here is a failure to understand common sense and a practical solution to not only our (CA) over burdened Jail system; but abused drug treatment program’s (from the doctor’s) and an incredibly, reliable, drought tolerant, cash crop that is being grown without being taxed. Who wouldn’t want an estimate $1.3B a year. How about it Arnold, could we use some more tax revenue? How about using Marijuana taxes to pay for current tax payer funded treatment programs?
Aside, from the Tax revenue and all the other beneficial things that could come with this, I want to talk a little about the objections and the objectors. In the last 12 years we have gone from a state where every transaction involving Marijuana was illegal and could at one point land you in jail. As pathetic as it sounds there are still states were a joint can get you placed in jail and states like Arizona where I can not legally drive to do business because I have cannabis (Cannabinoids) in my system. If I get pulled over in AZ, and an officer wants to test for Cannabinoids in my system he has the right, under AZ law. I could get a DUI even thought I have not inhaled in 3 days or up to a month, talk about a draconian, unintelligent idea that completely violates my right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Even worse, imagine if every time you wanted to travel or go out of state you had to break the law or not use your doctor prescribed medicine. Imagine, being stopped at the Airport and arrested for having you ED medication or you blood pressure medication, not to mention you’re psycho-active medication like, SSRI’s, Opioids and depression medication. It would be tough to imagine, 60% or more of people being denied access to travel because of their medication the same way I am. It’s sad!
Not only consider the above mentioned reasons to support this bill but the impact it would have on the community as a whole. According to limited available research, every state that has passed a Medical Marijuana law has seen a decrease among teenage use in the past 30 days (when the study was done) or ‘lifetime use’ as seen in other states such as WA. In California alone, there has been a 47% drop in usage among 9th graders (in the last 30days-standard question).A 47% drop is not a small margin; this is a large margin and a significant change from the years prior. Now, I know this data is limited and has been compiled by sources such as Drug Policy Alliance and Common Sense Drug Policy a non-profit pro Marijuana group. However, I am not going to assume there is no contradictory evidence but I know despite all evidence, the ONDCP and other groups who opposes Marijuana will never side with any modern published evidence to Marijuana’s medical benefit’s or anything but the paradigm, Marijuana is a Federal Crime. It’s it time to change the group think paradigm and read the data.
Finally, as a MMJ patient, who consumes Marijuana on a daily basis I can assure you people are not going to go crazy, show up on Girls Gone Wild or forget to check on the baby because they were getting stoned (that’s Alcohol people). Yeah, there are isolated instances of idiots who are under the influence of pot who do stupid things, but there are quadruple the cases of people doing idiotic behavior while drunk, on prescription drugs and basically stupid. This law and utilizing a paradigm of regulation, not prohibition, would not only reduce crime but would be an economic boom for California and the others states that are surely to follow suit. Please, if you agree with this article or this law, please contact every local and state politician you can connect with and urge them to support this bill.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/24/BAO416354C.DTLbodis