tales from the ditch

If you’re still doubting that legalizing marijuana is a good idea, think about this.  

Recently, border patrol agents in Texas have seized 14.5 million dollars’ worth of marijuana.  That’s over 18,000 pounds of the green stuff.  And that’s not even close to the total consumed by United States citizens – that’s just the stuff that was found and confiscated coming across the US-Mexican border.  In just one week.

How much revenue could the taxation of 14.5 million dollars’ worth of weed generate?  Now consider that several times that amount – perhaps even many times that amount – could be generated each week (even if this was an exceptionally high-volume week, sorry for the pun) from the marijuana that United States citizens currently consume, let alone any increases in use that would result from legalization.

That is a ridiculous amount of money, and it could probably pay for everybody’s health care.  Not to mention that a pot-smoking populace would require fewer doctor visits because it would be healthier on average than an alcohol-drinking, cigarette-smoking populace.  

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’d certainly be happy to switch to marijuana if it were legalized.  It seems to me that drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes is mildly to moderately suicidal, whereas smoking weed actually would lower my risk of developing cancer.  Not to mention that eating hemp seeds on my breakfast cereal would lessen my PMS symptoms, provide a balanced amino acid profile, and reduce inflammation in my muscles and joints.  And that applying oil infused with cannabis to my complexion would decrease my risk of developing wrinkles, acne, rosacea, eczema, and even skin cancer.

Still not convinced?  I don’t know what else to say.  Read any reputable medical journal.  It’ll tell you the same.