If you follow me on social media or know me in real life, you can't help but be very aware that I am a passionate and vocal advocate for repealing drug prohibition and ending America's failed War on Drugs. If you know me well at all, you know that I am a former police officer and this might seem to be a bit of a conflict of interest. Not so. When I took my oaths to be a police officer, a sailor, and a soldier, they were not to a particular law or set of laws, but to support and defend the US Constitution. it read;
"I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me.(God is optional here)"
What does this have to do with Cannabis and other drugs? The War on Drugs is not a war on chemicals or morality, but a war on freedom and the American People. In America, we become legal, consenting adults at the age of eighteen. We then have legal self-ownership. We have the right to make our own choices and to live with our successes and failures. Our nation is infested and overwhelmed with unconstitutional laws that are stripping us of our autonomy and reverting us to the status of wards of the state. On the one hand is Big Brother, watching over us and doing our thinking for us because we can't make intelligent, mature decisions for ourselves. On the other hand, is the Nanny State, providing all of our basic needs at someone else's expense, and making sure we don't harm ourselves.
The War on Drugs is destroying the fabric of America. It is statist government run rampant. It comes down to one thing; Self-ownership. The complete repeal of prohibition and an end to the War on Drugs. I think every time someone gets giddy because they have "allowed" limited medical marijuana or decriminalized simple possession making it "just" a civil offense with a fine rather than a misdemeanor or felony, we reaffirm that they had a right to tell us what to do with our bodies in the first place and they dig in harder about allowing more.
California's recent legalization was not popular with a lot of advocates because it greatly limits manufacturing and other options leaving a lot of control in the hands of government and big business squeezing out small businesses and individual rights.
We are adults and we should never permit our government to treat us as anything less.
I do not currently indulge in the use of cannabis and haven't for years. I am one of many people who would greatly benefit from it in a lot of aspects. I have arthritis, fibromyalgia, nerve damage, heart disease, healing problems, neuropathy, sleep apnea, insomnia, and mild depression. Most of my medical care is through the VA. Everything they prescribe has severe side effects. Cannabis has no dangerous side effects and there has never been a documented fatality from cannabis usage alone.
People drown in bath tubs, and drink bleach, antifreeze, and drain cleaner. They choke to death on pen caps and yet we don't ask the government to ban them to protect us from ourselves.
They say consensual crimes are victimless. That is false. Because these activities between consenting adults have been made illegal, everyone pays. The laws do far more damage than the acts themselves. We turn people who hurt no one into career criminals when their record keeps them from gainful employment. Their spouses and children become dependent on a broken system when they are no longer there to provide for them. We create enormous profits that finance organized crime and turn neighborhoods into war zones. Problem users find difficulty getting help because of the stigma and legalities. Our prisons overflow with non-violent offenders with mandatory minimum sentences while dangerous violent offenders are turned loose. Our law enforcement is corrupted, militarized, and develop a Them vs. Us mentality. Racial discrimination runs rampant. Politicians are paid off by Big Pharma, Big Timber, Big Oil, Big Cotton, the private prison industry, and other special interest groups, and America loses. America loses. This is unacceptable.
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It's about time we enforced it, rather than turning everything into a crime.
I am proud to be a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and urge you to check them out and support their efforts.
www.LEAP.cc