Saturday, January 26, 2008

Our Misguided Marijuana Laws

I can go to the liquor store and legally buy enough liquor to kill myself or at the very least make myself so sick I need two days to recover or end up hospitalized. I could legally buy a case of vodka and proceed to drink until I pass out, and the government has no problem with that, as long as I do it at home and not on the road.

On the other hand, if I smoke marijuana my body tells me when I've had enough and I honestly don't want more than enough. And unlike alcohol, when I have smoked marijuana I wake up the next morning feeling fine and dandy. (Notice my past-tense usage here, for the benefit of any Federales who might want to come bang in my door, I'm out of the stuff -- smoked it all up.) I've never in my life called in sick on a Monday from excessive consumption of pot on Sunday night. But I have definitely gone to work on a Monday with a horrendous hangover which has impaired my ability to work.

And that's apparently OK I suppose. We just don't want people going to work on Monday (or any other day) after having a toke on Saturday or Sunday night (or any other night), for whatever reason, even for health/medicinal reasons.
Employers can fire workers who use medical marijuana even if it was legally recommended by a doctor, the California Supreme Court ruled this week, dealing the state another setback in its standoff with federal law enforcement.

[...]

The high court [no pun intended, I'm sure] upheld a small Sacramento telecommunications company's firing of a man who flunked a company-ordered drug test. Gary Ross held a medical marijuana card authorizing him to use the drug to treat a back injury sustained while serving in the Air Force.

I really hope the next president of the United States will do something to remedy this absurdity. But I'm not (inhaling and) holding my breath.

Honestly, this pisses me off as much as any injustice.

Meanwhile...
The American Medical Association advocates keeping marijuana classified as a tightly controlled and dangerous drug that should not be legalized until more research is done.

Yeah, right. Because a plant which grows easily represents a HUGE threat to Big Pharma. Fuck the AMA. Plenty of research has been done.

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