64 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 84 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H1'ed 2/6/09

Phelps and Obama-- leading the way Towards legalizing Marijuana.

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   73 comments
Author 1
Editor-in-Chief

Rob Kall
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Rob Kall
Become a Fan
  (296 fans)

 Make sure you take the poll at the end of this article

You don't have to be a pothead to see that the writing is on the wall, that the end of pot prohibition is near.  

Neither Barack Obama or Michael Phelps are out in the streets protesting for the legalization of Marijuana use, but let's face it, when the most gold medal winning human and the most popular president in decades both have cannabis use in their history, it's hard to argue that weed is bad for you and will f*ck you up. 

To the contrary, when ultra-achievers have a record of inhaling, it turns the whole "evil marijuana" narrative upside down. 

 


(Image by Unknown Owner)   Details   DMCA
image from flickr byJD Lasica/ socialmedia.biz

The massive coverage being given to Michael Phelps bong photo, the continued sponsorship by most of his sponsors, the election of confessed inhaler Barack Obama-- these add up to a change in the weather when it comes to the national conversation about marijuana criminalization. 

and actually, Obama has advocated for the decriminalization of maryjane.

The mainstream media is totally ignoring it, but the buzz on twitter and in the blogosphere is growing. The hypocrisy, the bigotry and racism, the insane societal costs of criminalization are all adding up to the time being ripe for a major change in the archaic laws that Harry Anslinger, the nutcase from the 30's through 50's who sold the story of the "evils of marijuana" scared American into passing.

Now, one can easily argue that making ganja illegal exposes USERS to pushers selling harder drugs. One can argue that we are spending billions surveiling, arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating mostly minority users and small time dealers-- engaging in marijuana prohibition not unlike the alcohol prohibition that preceded the last great depression. 

Some will argue that Phelps and Obama have set terrible examples by inhaling. But the truth is, it is far more terrible to destroy the lives of millions of mostly black and latino and teen smokers. 

Maybe it's time. No. It is definitely time to re-visit marijuana laws. If weed was legalized and sold like alcohol and tobacco, we'd go from spending tens of billions on criminalizing it to creating an industry that would create at least a million jobs. Think about it. At least 40% of Americans have reported using marijuana. If just 5% of them were to use it legally on a regular to occasional basis, that would be 15 million users. The jobs created would entail growing, processing, packaging branding, advertising, retailing and then there would be those luscious state and even federal and municipal taxes. I can't imagine the industry being less than $3 billion a year, and probably, it would be a lot more, closer to $15-$20 billion. 

Sure, states could maintain laws against it, but they would probably, to enjoy the taxes, quickly get on the Bong Bandwagon. 

And if federal legislation included taxes that would help pay for the bailout AND create a million or more jobs-- well, it's hard to imagine Barack who inhaled Obama vetoing such a bill.

Frankly, it may start with opening up medical marijuana access, then decriminalization, like Massachusetts recently  passed.

And Michael Phelps? Screw Kellogs. I guarantee you the liquor, music and entertainment companies that will probably get into the business will jump to offer him hookah-tastic sponsorship offers. 

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Well Said 3   Supported 3   Valuable 3  
Rate It | View Ratings

Rob Kall Social Media Pages: Facebook Page       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media.

Check out his platform at RobKall.com

He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity

He's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful people on his Bottom Up Radio Show, and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and opinion sites, OpEdNews.com

more detailed bio:

Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

A Conspiracy Conspiracy Theory

Debunking Hillary's Specious Winning the Popular Vote Claim

Terrifying Video: "I Don't Need a Warrant, Ma'am, Under Federal Law"

Ray McGovern Discusses Brutal Arrest at Secretary Clinton's Internet Freedom Speech

Hillary's Disingenuous Claim That She's Won 2.5 Million More Votes is Bogus. Here's why

Cindy Sheehan Bugged in Denver

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend