Not just a war on a plant
Behind every prohibitionist lie is an equal and opposite giveaway to those born to power. Put people of color in jail and let the Rush Limbaughs go free. Refuse to allow the study of medical marijuana and let drug companies sell their products without adequate testing. Insist that the patient see a doctor for a "medical" prescription and let the county sheriff decide what the doctor can prescribe. It all might seem as incomprehensible as the riddle of alternating current, but only if you look at one point in time. Taken as a whole it's a system of repression designed to evade any reasonable regulation.
As outrageous as any individual part of the problem may be, they are small pieces of an almost unimaginably huge concern. Consider the WHO estimates of the international illegal drug trade, typically around $500 billion per annum. How many police forces and prison guards would be out of a job if this were to cease?
Such a view, of course, is just too huge to be of much use. We need to focus, on the one hand, and broaden our focus with the other. For example, we can learn that American drug companies are in practice free of effective regulation. Broadening our view, we learn that we "can't afford" a Medicare drug benefit under our present system. To keep their sweet deal, the drug companies must a) prevent the effective use of marijuana as a mood elevator or anti-emetic, b) prevent Medicare from using its buying power to force down prices, and c) prevent effective regulation of their development and manufacturing processes.
So as we study the drug wars, and learn of the forces that motivate prohibitionists, we also learn multiple points at which they are vulnerable because their greed and self-aggrandizement offends the average person. And the fact is, they can't afford to really lose even one of their arguments. If they do, the edifice begins to crumble and fall.
This is why there is such fierce resistance to medical marijuana. The healing effects might be mild but the lack of evil side-effects is prominent. Let people start substituting home-grown pot for a $600-per-month Dronabinol habit and the virtue of marijuana can be seen by all. A pharmaceutical industry that has devoted most of its efforts to 'mood enhancing' drugs over the past 20 years has, aside from Viagra and Rogaine, few other legs to stand on.
Another point at which the box can be pried open is the prison industry. In California Gray Davis stood as the spokesman for prisons, and Schwartzenneger ran as a man who appeared to be healthy in spite of promiscuous drug use. In every respect the prison industry has become incompatible with good government and many judges and legislators are admitting that.
To keep your interest fresh, realize that the future of Medicare, or your ability to drive to the store, may depend on defeating the prohibitionists. Your personal safety when you follow your doctor's instructions may depend on defeating the prohibitionists. For people of color, often sentenced to decades in prison for a few grams of "evidence", the stakes are grave. The broken families and bankruptcies that follow affect all of us.
And be angry. We're living in a social disaster created by police and politicians who act as tools for big contributors. Be angry enough to do something, or.....you'll live to regret it.
12:05:12 PM 
|
