'Weed' Out Old Guys:

GENERATION GAP CAUSES IRRATIONAL DECISIONS

Perhaps I've become softer in my advancing years, but recently I have
noticed several things that I am a lot more okay with than I used to
be. It's funny how our views change over time, and sometimes all it
takes is a simple consideration of the other side of the issue.
Moreover, once a person has a revelation like the kind I am about to
discuss, it is really frustrating how the powers-that-be will do
everything they can to stop it.

Everybody knows that gas prices are soaring again and while it is a
given that they will eventually ebb like the tide, it is another
given that they will flow again at some point too. The gross debt of
the United States has increased by an unfathomable sum of more than
$500 billion each year since 2003, according to the Treasury, and the
end of this increase is nowhere in sight.

One option that is extremely viable is, of course, the legalization
of marijuana; forget doctor-prescribed medical cards, just legalize
it already. I am by no means a weed smoker. I have partaken
approximately three times in my life and, honestly, I don't fare very
well on it. It just isn't for me. But, just because I can't handle it
doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to blaze up whenever you want.

I used to think that people that smoked weed frequently were dumb and
weren't very motivated in life. That is, of course, true for some
habitual stoners, but most of my friends like to smoke a little weed
now and then and a lot of them are motivated and upstanding
individuals, and I'm willing to bet that most of my peers are the same way.

This is simply because society has become more tolerant with
marijuana and - all things considered - it's really not a huge deal.
So why doesn't the government realize this? There is so much money to
be made on this untapped resource by just legalizing and taxing it
that it doesn't make any sense whatsoever to keep it in the
pseudo-gray area it is currently in.

Governments always tend to complicate the issues and there is usually
much more debate over a lot of issues than there needs to be, but
with weed, it seems like the government has turned it into a pariah,
cast out by those in power but championed by the common man.

One reason this dichotomy exists is because of the nature of our
political system. Often the representatives making decisions on our
behalf are simply out-of-touch with the evolution of our society. I'm
not trying to solve the age-old problems inherent in our system
because - by-and-large - our system does work. All I'm saying is that
there are certain things wrong with it, and this attitude toward weed
is definitely one that needs to be changed.

It never ceases to amaze me how progressive yet restricting this
country can be. Take the recent online poker ban in the U.S. I am an
avid gambler and poker is one of my favorite pastimes, but now -
because it is misunderstood by lawmakers - I can't play poker online
anymore due to some convoluted charges of fraud.

This should anger you as it does me. With so many untapped resources
that could help our floundering economy being ignored, what exactly
are politicians doing in Washington? Not a whole hell of a lot is my guess.