Pretty dope

Since this is the 20th of April, I decided to play upon the usual 4:20 double-entendre. On Wednesday at the Tea Party gathering I couldn’t help but notice a small group of young ragtag protesters with signs that didn’t seem to have anything to do with taxes or the economy. Their signs read “Legalize it” with drawings of hemp leaves. Whenever there is a protest of any kind there always seems to be somebody protesting the criminalization of marijuana. I’ve even heard a stand-up comic make a joke about it once. However, even though these guys appeared to be at the wrong protest, I still agree with their position.

The last three Presidents of the United States have at one point or another partook in illegal drugs. Barack Obama openly admitted to smoking marijuana in his youth, George W. Bush (although he refused to discuss it) was evidently a fan of nose candy before becoming “born again”, and nobody believed that “I didn’t inhale” bullshit from Bill Clinton back in 1992. These Presidents span the last 16 years of White House policies and yet the U.S. drug policy hasn’t changed significantly since the Nixon administration.

So, what’s the deal? These three guys at some point had control over the DEA and national drug policy. Each of these guys appointed a drug czar for their cabinet. And each of these guys had a some history of using illegal drugs. President Obama even said “I did inhale. That was the point.” So why is it that President Obama who freely admitted to smoking marijuana, still keeps it listed as a Schedule 1 narcotic? Bill Clinton could almost get away with this kind of hypocrisy by saying he didn’t inhale, and George W. Bush could always fall back on the whole being “born again” thing. Barack on the other hand, doesn’t have the same sanctimonious bunker to hide behind. So why the hypocrisy?

There can be any number of reasons for the stagnation in drug policy, but it all really boils down to politics. Decriminalizing marijuana would be a bold, principled move. It would cut the Federal and State budgets significantly, reduce prison populations by over one third, and dramatically reduce the violent crime rates nationwide. Unfortunately, it would be a move that would anger the hundreds of congress critters and senators who used the drug warrior image to enhance their individual political careers. If this happened they would promptly withdraw their support for the new President. He wouldn’t get re-elected in 2012. The DNC might not even nominate him. He’d be a pariah within most of his own party and his revised drug policy would be ammunition for the so-called “culture warriors” within the Republican Party. So President Obama must continue his own hypocrisy to cover for the hypocrisy of others within his own support structure. This was probably also the case with his pot-smoking, coke-snorting predecessors.

Considering this fact of American politics, the “legalize marijuana” crowd at the Tea Party protest was there for the same general reason we all were. They are just as fed up with the corruption and hypocrisy within the Federal Government as we are. The axe they grind may be different, but they’re grinding it for the same reasons that we grind ours. All we want is less government intrusion, and more freedom. It makes no difference if that freedom takes the shape of lower taxes and smaller government or the shape of a thick spliff filled with the stickiest of the icky. It’s all part of the same thing.

Not literally though, it’s a reference to the site name.  Toad, get it…to get high…

photo credit: Alexodus

Maybe I should explain.  The first raids on medical marijuana dispensaries since Obama took over went down recently, and there’s a lot of indignation over it.  Specifically from Obama supporters who thought things would change, or at least hoped they would (see what I did there).

It’s not hard to understand why people had hope.  When asked at a debate if he inhaled, Obama responded, “I inhaled many times, that’s the point.”  After hearing this, along with Obama’s statements about how it’s a waste of resources to go after pot,  the entire community of pot smokers rejoiced.  Then promptly forgot what we were talking about…

Now, some people are saying that these are the actions of the old administration, and that Obama hasn’t appointed a new head of the DEA or drug Czar yet.  (On a side note, what ever happened to not granting titles of nobility?)  They say we have to wait and see who the new administration puts in charge.  I, for one, am interested in who will be picked, because since the election– and even Obama’s nomination– the marijuana reformers have been treated like the guy who has the tickets to the party, but whom noone really likes.

I’m pretty sure that after any election where a coalition is built there’s a fair amount of fat trimming, and the cannabis aficionados are that fat.  They have been bombarding change.gov, Obama’s website for interacting with the people on issues they care about, but to no avail.  The best they get is the curt response, “President-elect Obama is not in favor of marijuana legalization.”  Nothing about the failed drug war, medical uses, or the reluctance of government to even allow research.   They’ll hand out speed, coke, and heroin all day for studies, but don’t bother asking for weed.

The lack of response is telling.  I seriously doubt that many of the hopes people took to the voting booth will come to be, at least for one group.  The raids on medical dispensaries will probably end once the new administration pulls Bush’s picks, but that’ll likely be the best change.   It’s not easy to continue raiding the medical supplies of old people with cancer.  It’s very easy to brush off supporters who are looking to legalize a substance that has been vilified by the government for decades.

Able to leap logic in a single bound.

Yesterday marked the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States.  Although this was admittedly an historic event, the hype surrounding it has gone too far.

One of the headlines at the top of the sports section of the msn.com page yesterday read “Five ways Barack Obama can fix sports.”   Fix sports? Is that part of his presidential responsibilities?  Maybe he can also make sure I never get the wrong order at Starbuck’s and fix the plumbing in my house.  Maybe Obama can bring peace to the Middle East, put a stop to international terrorism by force of personality, and make my farts smell like peach cobbler.

This up swelling of emotion is patently absurd.  It has gone beyond self-parody.  Monty Python couldn’t write a skit as inane as what surrounded yesterday’s inauguration.  Previous inaugurations have gone by relatively unmarked in comparison.  I understand this is the first black man elected as President, but that shouldn’t matter.  The fact that it does is by its very definition racist.  This is still all about color of skin taking priority over content of character.  I am by no means impugning the character of our President, but he is untested and untried and the emotion surrounding his fledgling administration is premature.  Congressman Jose Serrano of New York even proposed repealing the 22nd amendment so that Mr. Obama can be President indefinitely without dealing with those pesky term limits.  We don’t even know if he’s going to be any good yet and already some folks want him to hold the office permanently.

For all of you folks who are enjoying the multiple Obasms from the inauguration, keep reminding yourself that Obama is just a man.  Repeat after me:  “He’s just a man.  He is not a messianic prophet.  He’s just another politician with no other marketable skills.”  Repeat that mantra as many times as you need.  Keep in mind that this also applies to your fondest JFK memories.

In addition, I have one question for the truther conspiracy nuts out there.  What the fuck man? What’s the deal?  You guys told me President Bush would declare martial law before Obama was inaugurated and seize power permanently.  What happened?  Did Mr. Bush oversleep?  Maybe Obama is “in on it” too.  That must suck for you guys.  I’m sure you were convinced Obama wasn’t under the influence of the Freemasons and the Bilderburg Group.  Oh well, at least now you nutjobs have a new scapegoat to kick around for at least four more years.

It would be nice if Obama’s administration heralded peace and prosperity for America but I doubt that it will.  We aren’t in a position to extricate ourselves from most of the conflicts where our military is currently involved.  As far as prosperity goes, Obama’s plan of increasing the federal budget by $800 billion is not likely to do the U.S. economy a lot of good in the long term.  I predicted that if Obama became President that he would be Carter 2.0.  Now that it has come to pass, it’s time to brace ourselves.  I’d like to be as hopeful as the masses of the faithful who have made the pilgrimage to Washington D.C. this week, but I can’t.  I know better.  History has shown that Keynesian economic policies do not work, and right now that’s what we have to look forward to for the next four years.