As IF Times

link Marijuana Crushes Grapes as Cash Crop | NBC Bay Area.

Quite often we hear speculation on the value of the marijuana crop in California.  On the surface of it, there is some logic to the argument.  If there is such an insatiable demand for it, why not legalize it, tax it and voila, the whole criminal environment disappears and Mexico goes back to selling trinkets to tourists.  Of course, the British Columbia economy would be dealt a pretty hefty blow as well.   The gangs there would have to go back to stealing cars.

It is curious though as to how the estimates of value are calculated.  Do law enforcement people actually know where the crops are planted and they simply tally them?  Do pot growers volunteer information in an anonymous census?  It stands to reason that if they know enough about the crop size to count ’em, wouldn’t it stand to reason that they could be destroyed, given that for the moment, the crop is still illegal?  According to NORML, a pro marijuana lobby group, much of the estimate comes from extrapolation of crops seized by authorities in any given year,  http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4444#cropvalue   On this website, you will find many arguments offered in support of legalizing the crop including the benefit of not spending tax dollars on enforcement.

Detractors can argue that this may be the beginning of a slippery slope. Why not look at legalizing all sorts of vices presently considered undesirable, notably prostitution which has been around for a while as well.  These kinds of discussions can never be won.  There is only pro and con.  However in the case of pot legalization, this would logically lead to legalization of the next level of recreational drugs such as cocaine and heroin.  Heck, if we decriminalized everything which is considered socially unacceptable just because it’s expensive to police, why have laws against anything?  Why waste money and time on things such as seatbelt  and helmet laws and baby seat laws.  Why have customs and border laws?

It’s pretty fair to state that demand for recreational drugs of all sorts stems mainly from the western countries, notably the U.S.  It’s a mystery that nations with all the wealth, intelligence and industrial and commercial might would beget such demand for altered states chemicals.  As if that were the pinnacle of achievement in an affluent society, the right and freedom to dope out.  The fact that many countries hostile to the U.S. use the proceeds of drug sales to fund military campaigns against the U.S., as for example in the case of  Afghanistan, truly supports the notion that drugs are suicidal to western interests. 

Technically, the phrase enshrined in the US constitution about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” would cover the proclivity for people to get high although that was probably not the original  intent of the proclamation.   It would be curious to know if the drug problem afflicting western countries is present in developing countries such as China, or India.  If so, it isn’t as obvious as it is in our culture as demonstrated by numerous popular movies in which stonies are portrayed as harmless lovable dopeheads.  We celebrate that here. But we also glorify lots of other stupid things.  Jackass 3D has recently received big box office numbers on its recent release.  This franchise essentially glorifies the suicidal antics of some self destructive young men. 

The debate over whether to legalize pot because of pragmatism is contentious.  Bringing the drug into the mainstream like wine or tobacco can solve a lot of problems, but will undoubtedly create many others, notably addiction and related health issues.  If people argue that pot is not addictive, why don’t people quit even as other legal substances are readily available?  The bigger issue to be addressed is why an affluent and educated society feels the need to live in altered states.  The influence of voters will ultimately determine how they wish their society to be structured and at the moment, the impetus for legalization is growing.  The amounts of money saved by not having to enforce possession laws will undoubtedly be a boon to budgets.  Ironically, regulation and red tape may kill the business worse than being an illegal enterprise.   My bet though is that this ‘solution’ will bring with it many unforeseen consequences.