(Below is the text of my published letter-to-the-editor to my old hometown newspaper at the end of February.)
“Pennsylvania should legalize adult use of recreational
marijuana, for both moral and practical reasons. And if a user does any careless harm to
others, then they should be prosecuted for such harm just as we do with the
much more dangerous use of alcohol.
“The Declaration of Independence emphasizes our individual
“inalienable” natural rights, including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness,” as long as we do not violate such equal rights of others. Government’s primary purpose is “to secure
these rights,” not to restrict them like some nanny. Toleration of another’s unique peaceful
pursuits is profoundly American. (Please
forgive the history lesson, but this former teacher cannot resist.)
“Two relevant examples of American toleration of individual
rights:
“Our Founders recognized that many once-persecuted refugees
had found religious freedom in America, thus our diverse religious practices
may offend and even horrify others. But
so long as we are peaceful the government should leave each of us free to
practice whatever heresies we choose – even (gasp!) the Quakers.
“Americans also have a clear constitutional individual right
to keep and bear firearms. In such cases
when innocents are ever harmed, just laws and juries will find you guilty if
you violate others’ rights by your careless or malicious use of guns.
“The same moral rules of mutual toleration and individual
responsibility should apply to the individual’s use of cannabis.
“Americans’ use of marijuana is commonplace. In Vietnam in 1969-70 at our US Marine combat
base at An Hoa, over 75 percent of us in my unit smoked grass whenever we got a
safe chance to do so when not out in immediate combat danger. Returning home from Vietnam I smoked grass in
moderation almost every day throughout the decade of the 1970s, and this, part
of my own personal “pursuit of happiness,” helped me to get my life back
together. I am grateful for its profound
effects, both medicinal and inspirational, and I became a healthier, more
motivated, and more optimistic person for it. I stopped smoking cannabis in the 1980s
because I moved on to other pursuits. It
was so easy to simply quit, although I did have a subsequent decline in health. In the 40 years since, it has been most
extremely rare for me to ever use it at all.
“Practical arguments for legalization are many. It would eclipse black markets where other
truly dangerous drugs are available, so that consumers are not associating with
such pushers of poisons. Cannabis is a
safer “exit drug” substitute for them. And we will stop ruining countless human lives
by making criminals of them.
“Of course, drivers impaired by marijuana are a legitimate
concern, although it is not nearly as deadly a problem as drivers on alcohol,
not even in the same league. States that
have legalized it are not seeing the horrors once feared. But we certainly need to keep impaired folks
from endangering others on the road.
“The problems here – moral, justice, and practical – are
that cannabis-impaired driving is difficult to prove. Blood-draw evidence cannot prove actual
intoxication as it does with alcohol, since THC traces can remain in the system
for weeks even though any actual impairment might only have been for a few
hours.
“A better, and more just, solution seems to be roadside
sobriety assessments by Drug Recognition Experts (DRE), a specialty of emerging
importance. More DRE certifications are
needed. Our law enforcement officers are
intelligent and competent public service professionals, and they have a proven
record of being easily trained in any such new methodologies. Legalization is the future, and law
enforcement must be ahead of the curve and prepared on this.
“Morally and practically, recreational cannabis should be
legal for all adults, and nearly two-thirds of Americans agree in whole or
part. Justice demands it. Pennsylvanians, recover America’s ideals of
individual rights and personal freedom, and liberate marijuana!”
(End quote.)
-Zenwind.
.
