money & guns

Yesterday, Congressman Barney Frank from Massachusetts introduced a House bill that would decriminalize up to 3oz. of marijuana at the federal level (though you’d be hard pressed to find a mention of this in any major news outlets). It’s about time somebody grew a pair of balls (Barney apparently had them back in the 70s when he introduced a similar bill in the state legislature, but lost them for a while.  A source says they were in the breast pocket of a rarely worn jacket.)  Although (according to a poll done by CNN/Time Magazine) 72% of voters believe that adults should not be jailed for smoking marijuana and 80% believe marijuana should be legal for medical use, apparently very few legislators at the federal level agree with them (or maybe they just enjoy having their hands in the cookie jar).  How’s that for democracy?

Among Barney’s many lucid arguments:

• Federal crimes for individual actions are actually quite rare—there is no federal crime of mugging for example.  Why did we make a federal crime out of the inherently personal act of smoking marijuana?
• The Federal government rarely prosecutes small amounts of marijuana anyway.
• The federal law interferes with state medical marijuana laws.
• etc….

Although the suits seem to care very little about your opinion, I recommend writing to them this time to let them know how you want them to vote on this bill.  It probably can’t hurt.  The Marijuana Policy Project has a secure form for submitting words to congresspeople and an example.

The funniest objection I saw yet came from DARE:

” while not everyone who smokes pot will end up shooting heroin, almost no heroin addicts begin with the more dangerous drug.”

Yeah, and although not everyone who drinks water will end up shooting someone, almost all murderers drink water before killing someone.  So what?  I get dumber every time I hear arguments like that, and most Americans have probably heard them so many times they no longer bat an eye and probably even agree.  We’re made if not stupid, numb to reason, by constant repetition of mantras.

Grow some balls (or breasts) and stop putting over half a million people in jail at any one time for simple marijuana possession.  Yes, I’m talking to you.  And you too.  And even you.