Max Force and Hitman aren't going to like this...(Part 1)

Believe it or not, most of my political leanings don't come from parents, religion, or some news channel.  Most of my gut feelings are based in my undying hatred of hypocrisy.  Let's get this out of the way now: There is no way for anyone to live their life without being slightly hypocritical here and there.  We can strive for it, but we are human and we will screw up from time to time.  That being said, I do try to do just that: strive for a life without hypocrisy. Since my last blog entry caused so much controversy with my millions of readers (believe me, the countless letters I have received have been overwhelming; even the ones from far far away) I thought I might remind readers of some of my "softer" social stances.

Marijuana

Why in the world is this illegal? There's basically no good reason for it.  I also refuse to really hear out any reason that doesn't begin with explaining why I might have to turn down the TV's latest stream of beer commercials to hear said argument.

I like to drink socially, it can be fun and relaxing. In the right atmosphere it can promote a good time, in darker times it can provide a comfort of sorts to drown your sorrows away.  While I'm not an advocate of the latter, I can respect its limited medicinal purposes as well.  As someone that, in spite of the nature of my career, tends to be a bit anti-social and a struggling "mingler," I can completely respect the idea of loosening up with a drink or two.

I feel like I'm insulting the intelligence of the reader to lay out some of these comparisons, but we might as well start at the top.  We have a country full of hypocrites on both sides of the proverbial aisle that refuse to right this wrong. I can go out, get completely shitfaced if I so choose, and it is legal and for the most-part socially acceptable. Smoke a joint in my own home and spend the evening watching TV? Hardened criminal!

Can you drink too much in one evening and die? Yes, as the thousands who die every year from this can have their families and loved ones attest to.

Can you smoke too much pot in one evening and die? No, unless you asphyxiate from a comically large amount of smoke. The same way you would die from smoking too many cigarettes in an hour or too much coffee.

Who hasn't had an out of control drunk friend that was trying to fight, brawl, scratch, and claw everyone around them?

When is the last time someone was on pot and got uncontrollably angry and dangerous to be around?

News articles you won't see anytime soon?

"Man high on marijuana murders family of 4"

"Woman "stoned" on marijuana is taken to jail after assaulting someone at a bar"

Look, I'm going to spare the comparison, we all know it's bogus. If you don't know it is bogus and you are reading this blog, let me sum it up for you quickly: Marijuana has never killed anyone, it has a fraction of the known side effects of alcohol and countless other legal drugs. It has less harmful chemicals in it than a can of Coke or Pepsi.

So let's get to the course of action shall we?

From Bill Clinton's "I didn't inhale." absurd lie to "When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point" from our current president, we have a culture of amazing hypocrisy. Now supporters of BHO might go "See Pat, Obama is on your side here!" except for the fact that he has spent his first term in office cracking down on California marijuana law and will not support any movement at all to legalize it, same as gay marriage I might add....but that is for another day...

Ah social cons, how I love to despise you. But it isn't like they are to blame, not really.  Sure, I've listened to my own grandmother tell me a story of how a young man she knew overdosed on "pot" and died.  Yes, social cons certainly vocally lead the charge.  But Roe V Wade tells me that when this country decides to stand up for itself, we don't mind telling the social cons to go to hell.

Well guess what, it's time to tell them to go to hell again.  In the upcoming blog post I will lay out my plan for the effective legalization of marijuana.   You see, it unfortunately is not as simple as "Yay it's legal now, go!" There has to be a structured plan to it.  It does need to be regulated and controlled the same way alcohol is controlled.  We don't need 6 year olds sparking up. We don't need parents getting their kids stoned (We apologies to those who enjoyed this boon growing up, but let's be honest a young developing mind does not need to be stoned).


Part of this needed change needs to have honesty on both sides.

As much as the social cons are stupid, the complete potheads will need to be squelched as well.  You can't sit around smoking up every day and getting handouts, you cannot expect workplaces to lax their policies anymore than they can on alcohol.

Pot makes you lazy, it makes you lose ambition, and when used habitually it can cause serious problems in your life. That doesn't mean it should be illegal, just used as yet another measuring tool in society.  No one minds the employee that drinks socially on the weekend. But the one that goes home to a handle of Jack every evening and rolls into work smelling like a bar at 9am is an issue.

You aren't going to be able to smoke in the streets because unlike with cigarettes (this is just to prepare for a future blog on tobacco) the second hand smoke has an immediate demonstrable  effect on a passerby that would potentially cause unsolicited effects on their state of mind.

Stay tuned folks, the next blog gets a lot more number-crunching intensive and preachy, this one is just laying the groundwork.