IT'S TIME FOR UNITY IN THE MARIJUANA REFORM MOVEMENT

It appears that there is a growing contingent of marijuana users and
people associated with the industry who are fighting against efforts
to make it legal for all adults.

Marijuana users are an extremely diverse group. Whether it be medical
or recreational use, they can be found in almost every demographic
imaginable in America. As such, there are a wide variety of opinions
on how marijuana should be treated by society at large, as well as how
to achieve such goals. This shouldn't be surprising, and there is
always room for debate on what the best models and methods for reform
should be. Recently, however, a disturbing trend has emerged.

It appears that there is a growing contingent of marijuana users and
people associated with the industry, both legal and illicit, who are
actively fighting against efforts to make marijuana legal for all
adults. There are several arguments being thrown around to defend the
status quo of marijuana prohibition. Some of those arguments are well
intentioned but shortsighted. Some are downright malicious. The one
commonality they have is their divisive effect on the movement at a
time when unity is crucial to finally end the government's war on
marijuana users.

A common complaint is that, in a regulated marijuana market, big
corporations will push out small businesses. This is an understandable
fear, especially to someone who has spent his or her life, and risked
imprisonment and persecution, trying to run a marijuana-related
business. These people surely do not want to see a culture and
industry that they love taken over by corporate interests and diluted.
But corporations already control marijuana.

They are the cartels that heavily influence the market and bring death
to our borders and our inner cities. They are the prison-builders that
lobby for harsher sentencing so they can keep the cells full and the
cash flowing. They are the pharmaceutical companies that stonewall
cannabinoid research so they can keep pushing expensive pills.

Of course some big businesses are going to see opportunity in a newly
legal and regulated marijuana market and will try to take advantage of
it. And surely some of their practices will be detestable. Marijuana
consumers have a right to choose, though. Big businesses cannot "ruin
marijuana" any more than Coors has ruined beer. As with alcohol, with
its thriving microbrew industry, there will inevitably be a large
market for higher-quality, locally grown marijuana.

Another popular attack against potential reforms is that they do not
go far enough. There are many people who feel very strongly about
securing certain protections, whether they be the right to grow at
home, amnesty for marijuana prisoners, personal possession limits, and
so on. The most vocal among them feel so strongly that they would
rather see a decent bill fail than pass without their inclusion.

While we can sit around dreaming about what the country would be like
with "perfect" marijuana laws, the political reality is that we cannot
get anywhere near there without taking incremental steps. We are
fighting against more than seventy years of lies and propaganda, as
well as entrenched corporate and government interests. By building on
small victories, we can more easily pass improved laws and overturn
bad portions of otherwise good laws. We cannot build on zero
victories. While we sit around arguing about minor concessions and
principles, people are going to jail or dying. We cannot afford to
wait for the rest of the country to come around to the way of thinking
of the more radical among us, even if we might agree with them.

The worst obstructionist arguments come from people who are doing just
fine under prohibition. They come from the growers and dealers, who
stand to lose a little bit of the tremendous amount of money they make
in the illegal market. They come from the guys that think marijuana is
only "cool" if it is unregulated, and don't want to lose their status.
They come from the young adults who simply do not care if it is legal
or not, because they are going to do it anyway.

Never mind that their lifestyles come at the expense of others'
freedom! In all seriousness, if you want to be a cool, wealthy outlaw,
here is some advice: develop a personality, and buy a motorcycle. The
rest of us are sick of living our lives on the lam for you. If you
cannot support marijuana reform because of such selfish reasoning,
please remove yourself from the debate.

The time has never been better for making real progress in marijuana
reform. As we propose new changes and laws, everyone should get a
chance to voice their opinions or concerns. When we have a chance to
pass improved marijuana laws, however, we need to present a united
front. As long as someone can be arrested for marijuana in the United
States, we need to support each other -- even if we, as individuals,
do not get exactly what we want. For registered voters in California,
this means coming out to the polls on November 2 to vote yes on
Proposition 19.