The Greening Of America

         20 years ago it was absurd to think that marijuana would ever become an acceptable part of American life, much like cigarettes or alcohol have become.  But as people are getting educated on the fact that marijuana can cause less harm when compared to those effects of alcohol or tobacco, it’s rapidly making strides to becoming legal and regulated.

          I guess you can say it started back in the late 90’s, when California passed proposition 215 which made marijuana legal for medicinal purposes. After prop. 215 passed in 1996, other states soon then followed, first with Alaska, Oregon, and Washington all passing laws in 1998 making the use of medical marijuana legal. Rounding out the 20^th century with Maine passing with 61% of the vote in favor for the use of medical marijuana in 1999.

          These states paved the way not only for other states to adopt and pass laws for the use of medical marijuana but also the decriminalization of pot. The decriminalization of pot was huge, because it made possession of certain amounts of weed punishable only by fines, where before there was a certainty of jail time to be served. 

          The passing of laws making medical marijuana legal and the decriminalization of weed has had a major impact on this nation leading us to where we are at now. It has been a long time coming, but the legalization of pot has come full circle with 2 states passing laws making the use of marijuana not only for medical purposes but also recreational use completely legal. In 2012, Colorado and Washington are the first 2 states that legalized the recreational use and sales of marijuana. However, the use of pot is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government making the push for a federally adopted law very sought after.

          Before we can get to that point of a federal legalization of pot, we need more states to jump on board and legalize the recreational use and sales of marijuana. With the legalization, also comes regulation of pot. Meaning pot can and will be taxed, bringing a much needed source of revenue to these states. New revenue means better “everything,”……improved roads, new schools, more teachers, police, medics, and firefighters, not to mention improved social services. So it’ll be in these states’ interests to legalize the use of marijuana for the good of its citizens. Although I think that we are still at least a decade away from all the states following in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington, we are much closer to that day than we have ever been.

Heads-Up

Zina brings up a very good point with the report "Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right" earlier this month on the National Lone Soldier. When ever I think about the future I see automation taking care of a lot of everyday jobs, but I never bothered to think about what happened to the previous workers of all these jobs. Having all this automation will cause thousands and possibly millions to be unemployed! So being educated and having skills that will be pertinent to the time will be extremely useful! Educating our young now with skills and knowledge that will be relevant for the future is what she's trying to relay to us. So watch out, the future is now and a lot of Americans aren't properly equipped to handle what tomorrow will bring.