Whatever

  Just heard on the news that Trump is considering declaring Pot, not that dangerous. I'm guessing he is talking about having it removed from the schedule one drug list. It is currently on that list because it is has a high potential for abuse and at the time it was placed there, no medical use. Personally I feel like they might as well remove it from the list. Face it, many states are just ignoring that anyway, declaring it legal on the state level. If the federal government is going to simply ignore enforcement there doesn't seem to be any need to have the rule. 

 I'm not going to enter into any big discussion or argument about the evils of Pot. I'm not going to argue whether it even should be allowed or not. I've had countless discussions about that. It is what it is. But what I am going to say is this would just be another shift in the moral and ethical values of America. The schedule one drug list was created as a means to protect the people. Prior to that you had your snake oil salesmen peddling every sort of concoction and cure you could imagine. We all know that Coca-Cola originally had cocaine. Yes, some method was needed to protect the public. The thinking isn't any different than mandating seat belts, wearing helmets or face masks, getting mandatory immunizations and the like. It is for your own good, and the children, don't forget about the children.

  Living close to the city of Baltimore I hear the news from there all the time. Lately the concern for safer street drugs has taken top priority. What they called a mass overdose event took place about a week or so ago. The news reporting health officials are deeply concerned because they couldn't determine exactly what product was being sold. The illegal drugs being sold in the back alley may not be safe! Narcan was handed out like candy, bulletins posted, emergency response teams mobilized and amnesty from prosecution guaranteed to anyone with some information. There has been free needle exchanges, safe spaces set up to inject themselves, attended by trained medical professionals in case something goes wrong. That program didn't last long. Still, all of that was to protect the public. The public using illegal street drugs that is.  

  Well I'm just shaking my head and smiling. What I'm hearing is, it isn't that bad. That is the reason we should legalize the use of marijuana on a national level. It's the same argument as, it's no worse than alcohol. Yes, I suppose that is a valid statement. It's no worse than. It's a logical fallacy. It assumes that if something worse exists you don't need to be concerned with that problem. It is nothing to complain about. It is the same argument that because a worse condition existed in the past the current condition is just fine, at least, it is no worse. 

  People have gotten criminal records because of using marijuana. Yes, they have. They have also gotten criminal records for every crime on the books. The reason being, they broke the law. The question as to whether it was, or should have been a law, is not the issue. Simply put, it isn't the fault of the law, it is the fault of the person committing the criminal act. In my view you can't undo the past. If you broke the law in the past, and that law is later expunged from the books, you still broke the law. You simply can't change the past. As to why Trump would support the legalization of pot on a national level, having it removed from that schedule one status, I can only guess. Seems like a political statement to me. Could be Trump is looking to gain some popularity, perhaps to enhance his legacy? I don't know but I'm thinking someone put that bug in his ear. My final thought regrading this: whatever.