The Cap Times documents an interesting protest on the steps of the Capitol earlier today. I'm sorry I wasn't there. The idea of holding a prayer, accompanied by sympathetic clergy, was a great political move. The association of the legalization movement with over-the-hill Grateful Dead nostalgics has unfortunately delegitimized the cause to some onlookers. It's good they're going mainstream.
With less than a month remaining before the end of the legislative session, supporters gathered outside the Capitol Tuesday in an effort to make Wisconsin the 15th state, along with the District of Columbia, to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Erin Silbaugh [A veteran with PTSD] says marijuana helps with his stress, anxiety, angry outbursts and sleeping problems. The pills, he says, make him fall asleep."I am a man of faith," Silbaugh says. "I don't want to be viewed as a criminal for using marijuana."
It is unlikely that Wisconsin will pursue the ultra-liberal policy that we see in California, where the loose regulations on medicinal weed make the drug accessible to anybody with enough initiative to roll a joint. Nevertheless, a stricter medicinal marijuana law, by allowing people to witness non-criminal and non-excessive pot consumption, would show that a hit of weed is no more harmful than a can of beer.
Although the trend on marijuana laws is liberalization, keep in mind that acceptance of a vice (as most Americans see it) does not translate into legalization of that vice. Look at gambling. Most Americans have no problem with a few innocent games of craps in Vegas, but they don't welcome casinos in their towns. Similarly, marijuana may become virtually decriminalized in the coming decades but full-scale legalization, in which pot could be regulated and TAXED (think of the revenue) is still far off.
Ignorance on the subject of marijuana is rampant, even within the younger generations. Here's a great example.
