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March 26, 2010
The Other Shoe Drops
The announcement, in yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle, that an initiative calling for the “legalization” of marijuana had qualified for the November ballot must have confirmed the worst fears kindled in drug war supporters almost fourteen years ago by the unexpected passage of Proposition 215.What struck me most about the Chronicle story was the degree to which it misinterpreted important related events over that same interval, many of which had transpired right here in the Bay Area. However, my own experience had prepared me for the confusion by revealing that none of the interested parties were seeing reality through the same prism and the most authoritarian voices were often the most confused. In that respect I had been well prepared for the reactions reported locally the Chronicle and nationally in the New York Times, both of which reflected an ambient confusion, although with somewhat different emphasis.
My own crowded schedule precludes more than passing mention of what is really a landmark event, one unlikely to turn out exactly as predicted by the experts. As for November: if the initiative passes, some large helpings of crow will be in order soon afterward and some rapid adjustments will have to be made, both in Sacramento and in Washington.
Another development seems inevitable: whatever happens this time around, eventual nationwide legalization of Marijuana will happen; the only remaining questions are how messy the process will be and how much avoidable injury will de done by the self-appointed experts on both sides.
Our species has always had great trouble doing the right thing; especially when it comes to our most important decisions. Our experience with "marijuana" is simply one more example.
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at March 26, 2010 03:39 PM