Wednesday, January 22, 2014

More dangerous than pot

Chances are you picked up on this one because it was splattered all over the internet and widely-reported by all news sources. 

President Obama says that pot (he means marijuana) is no more dangerous than alcohol.

He’s troubled at the disproportionate number of arrests and imprisonments of minorities for marijuana use.  He commented “Middle-class kids don’t get locked up for smoking pot, and poor kids do.”

President Obama also said that (marijuana) users shouldn’t be locked up for long stretches of time when people writing drug laws “. . . have probably done the same thing.”

Then he delivered another conquer and divide statement of “And African-American kids and Latino kids are more likely to be poor and less likely to have the resources and the support to avoid unduly harsh penalties.”

So where do I begin sharing my takes on this?

First, if he thinks legalization of marijuana will narrow the gap of poor kid versus middle-class kid arrests and imprisonments from its use, then he'll also want to legalize other criminal acts and that too will narrow this gap.

Let’s face it, poor kids shouldn’t be locked up for other criminal acts when some of these laws were probably written by people who have done the same thing.

And finally, it may be true that African-American kids and Latino kids are more likely to be poor and less likely to have the resources and the support to avoid undue harsh penalties. 

But what’s more truthful is that President Obama’s economic policies and social programs will make sure these people stay stuck at the bottom of their economic totem poles.

President Obama believes pot is no more dangerous than alcohol.  

For the poor kids he's so very concerned with, I believe President Obama's economic policies and social programs are more dangerous than pot.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

No comments: