If you live in Maine, Massachusetts, California, Nevada, or Arizona, make sure to vote YES on your respective proposition regarding the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. This is one of the most important battles in the struggle to legalize a drug that has been unfairly criminalized for far too long. Legalizing marijuana is important not just for “stoners”, but also for everyone else. Too many people are sitting in prison for low-level pot offenses. People of color are still unfairly targeted for marijuana use even while studies show their white counterparts use the drug just as much. Cartels whose main source of profit is marijuana will lose profit and eventually be irrelevant.
In the most recent Gallup Poll, 60% of Americans said they favored marijuana legalization. The biggest opponents to legalization have been the biggest opponents of the American people. This includes: police unions (police departments thrive on marijuana charges), pharmaceutical companies (marijuana can often replace painkillers and other medications for far cheaper, with less side effects), and alcohol companies (this one I don’t fully understand, beer and bud are perfect together!). This blatant conspiracy to stop legalization solely because it is in those entities’ best interests is a burden on democracy. These lobbies, along with multi-billionaire Sheldon Adelson, have donated millions and millions of dollars to kill marijuana legalization.
It is clear that marijuana use is American past-time, just ask President Obama who was photographed smoking weed in high school. In fact, in a recent interview with Bill Maher, the president hinted at the fact that if marijuana legalization passes in these key states it will more than likely cause it to soon be legalized at the federal level. Even though on election day you may have to vote for someone you really don’t like, if you live in California, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, or Nevada, at least you get to vote for something that makes everyone happy.
You can typically find these questions lower on the ballot, don’t leave without voting on them! Make sure you look for these questions and circles yes:
California – Proposition 64
Arizona – Proposition 205
Maine – Question 1
Massachusetts – Question 4
Nevada – Question 2
