NY Times: Repeal Prohibition
With three beautifully simple words, The New York Times Editorial Board threw its weed in the bowl and took a long pull off the Legalize It Movement bong here in the Divided States in Sunday’s edition. ““Repeal Prohibition, Again” read their op-ed, complete with a trippy background that changed from the Star’s and Stripes to cannabis leaves as readers scrolled down the page. With the shared editorial opinion, The Times emerged from the smoggy haze of old fashioned backwards thinking that has kept cannabis and its many uses unavailable for four decades in this country.
“It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed the current ban on marijuana, inflicting great harm on society just to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol,” The NY T’s Editorial Board said.
Rather than recommending legalize continue in its current state by state form, the NYT recommended clear cut action form the federal government so as to protect progress from being repealed by whichever president decides it suits his platform.
“The federal government should repeal the ban on marijuana,” the NY Times recommended. “We reached that conclusion after a great deal of discussion among the members of The Times’ Editorial Board, inspired by a rapidly growing movement among the states to reform marijuana laws.”
The piece cast aside the claim that cannabis is a gateway drug. They also acknowledged the decades of misinformation and flat-out propaganda such as the film “Reefer Madness,” which depicts “marijuana” use as akin to cocaine or heroin. The Times also put into proper context the health and potential addiction concerns, citing alcohol and tobacco as examples of legal drugs with addictive properties arguably greater than cannabis. No one panics about those legal drugs to the tune of “658,000 arrests for marijuana possession in 2012, according to F.B.I. Figures,” numbers which the NTY cited. Yet both alcohol and tobacco kill more people each year. To date, someone correct me if I am wrong, no one has died from ingesting cannabis.
The NYT Board also acknowledged that cannabis should be consumed by adolescents in its recreational form. Medical forms should be cases by case. They also recommend, as with alcohol, a 21 years of age limit for cannabis users.
The Times’ Editorial Board promised to fill the week with pieces supporting this newly stated position.
23 states in the Union have cleared Mary Jane for medical use. Two for recreational use with others on the way. And now the New York Times, arguably America’s most esteemed journalistic entity, is joining the party. Puff, puff, give, indeed.
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