During the last election, the voters of Massachusetts decided to decriminalize marijuana, at least in small amounts. The arguments in favor of the proposition were mostly along the lines of, it sucks to have a criminal record for doing something illegal. Apparently it is hard to get a job, or find housing when you have a criminal record (which you get by doing something illegal). Needless to say I was not a big fan of this proposition.
Another reason I am not a fan of this proposition is because marijuana is classified as a schedule I drug by the federal government. To have a state undermine the enforcement and viability of a federal law is a travesty. Unenforced and poorly enforced laws are bad laws.
Anyway, that aside out of the way... Since the proposition was passed (it still has not become law) I have smelled marijuana on numerous occasions. In fact just a couple of days after it was passed I smelled smoke coming in through my window. This morning on my way to work, I was standing on the subway platform and the foul odor came my way. I saw three high school age kids standing at the very end of the platform, and hiding behind a pillar. I suspect they were the ones doing the smoking.
So, I'm wondering if the passage of this proposal is going to cause an escalation in the amount of pot being smoked. Also will it encourage people to smoke in public.
2 comments:
Public marijuana smoking is something you see all the time here in SF. I don't really see it as a public menace; pot smokers are a pretty peaceful bunch.
In some respects I put smoking pot along with smoking tobacco, both are nasty. They stink.
When I go into DC, where people are not allowed to smoke on the subway, and take the escalator out of the station, I see cigarette butts beside the escalators.
Though I dislike the smell, the sight of the butts was equally or more disgusting.
My father smoked for 50 years. He came down with smoker's hack or emphysema. My mother warned him that if he wanted to live long enough to see more grandchildren that he had to quit smoking. Went cold turkey.
He later said that whenever he smelled cigarettes/cigars, he thought how disgusting. He also said that not a day went by without him thinkning how good one would taste.
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