a federal offense

  I listen to the news most mornings and have to say things get more ridiculous every day. This morning they are reporting that the Maryland state legislators are considering a bill to legalize marijuana. What that really means is the state would no longer prosecute people with that substance. Just like every other state in the union, marijuana will still remain a felony to possess. It being a substance listed on the Federal controlled dangerous substance list, it remains a federal crime regardless of any state laws. But what caught my attention about this proposal is the reasoning behind it. The primary reason was there are too many arrests for people with marijuana. Yes, the reason we should change the law (really ignore the law) is because people are breaking the law. They did go on to mention the health benefits of marijuana as another benefit. Yes, and the revenue the sale of that substance may produce would certainly be welcomed. Some of the revenue could be used to fund rehabilitation centers for drug addicts. Or it could be used to buy more needles and narcan to keep the druggies safe. Either way, it's a win-win. 

 Now I did a little reading about the health benefits of marijuana. Mostly it is used for pain management, for stress relief, and in juveniles with epilepsy. That some benefit can come from its' use is not disputed. It was pointed out that for pain management it only works on milder forms of pain, just minor aches and pains. You still need something a bit stronger for severe pain. So, I question the validity of that argument. We certainly have any number of products that can be used in place of pot for minor pain management. Stress relief? Well now, there are also a number of products that can be utilized for that as well, just not as "cool" to use. The problem with all of these things however is the same, a gateway to something stronger. It's human nature. Once we find a pathway to relief, we tend to continue down that path. After a while we always need just a little bit more, something with a bit more kick. 

 I did read where the CBD oil has benefits while not getting the person high. It is used to help with nausea after chemotherapy as an example. The oil is widely available. You can get a legal prescription for that product from your doctor. But what the legislators are talking about is legalizing marijuana to smoke. I fail to see how inhaling anything into your lungs can be a benefit. I inhaled untold number of Marlboro cigarettes over a thirty year period. Stress relief? Well maybe, but it sure wasn't any benefit to my lungs. The government does profit from the sale however, an estimated twenty billion in 2018 alone. And that's while the government encourages everyone to quit, imposes mandates and restrictions on when and where you can even use the product. Haven't heard of any legislation banning the sale of those products however, not one. Vaping introduces that all important nicotine but that became an epidemic with our youth! Strange, isn't it? 

 The bottom line is it will eventually be legalized, removed from the CDS list, or the law ignored by the states. A condition I still fail to completely understand. Not that the FBI is interested, or should be, but possessing marijuana is still a federal crime and you can still be prosecuted for that regardless of what the state says! Federal law always supersedes state law. Article V1 Paragraph two. As for me I don't believe it should be legalized for recreational use. Yes, people will still smoke it but that isn't a reason to legalize it. People will murder other people too. A government that feels justified in limiting alcohol and tobacco products based on health benefits has no business adding another product to the list. The government has declared addiction as a disease. Should that same government legalize the product that may lead to addiction? Yeah, not everyone that smokes pot will use something stronger, not everyone becomes a pot head, same as not everyone becomes an alcoholic or addicted to opioids. But a government telling me I should wear a mask over my face for two years, in the interest of public safety, certainly shouldn't be saying this is fine. The same government mandating the injection of a product into my body telling me I have no choice about that. 

 What I want is for the legislators to just come right out and say the truth. We want to legalize this product so we can tax it. We aren't really concerned if it provides any health benefits, we don't care about that. We don't want to be bothered arresting people for distributing or using that stuff. We have the ATF for that. After we legalize and tax that stuff we will actively prosecute anyone selling it without paying the tax! Just like alcohol and tobacco we will not allow that. That is a FEDERAL OFFENSE.