By Elmer Whittaker
On Friday March 15, 2013 Las Vegas Assemblyman Joe Hogan
(D) introduced a bill to decriminalize marijuana to the Nevada State Assembly. Assemblyman
Joe Hogan (D) not only cited societal benefits and the legalization of marijuana
for medical purposes in his bill, but stretched the remarkable medical benefits
of the plant.
I think Assemblyman Joe Hogan’s bill deserves not only
the support from Democrats, Libertarians and Greens but Republicans as well.
As a Libertarian I support decriminalization and even
legalization not only of marijuana but of all drugs. As we have seen from
alcohol prohibition and the war on drugs so far, it is clear that such
prohibitions simply cannot be won or be successfully enforced.
The war on drugs has led to nothing else but the mass
criminalization of many Americans who would otherwise be functional members of
society and has pushed the illegal drug trade and traffic underground where it
causes uncontrollable violence and a byproduct of even more crime at the
expense of billions of dollars.
Drug prohibition and criminalization only benefits the
pharmaceutical corporations and the prison industry.
The Netherlands and Portugal have shown that drug
decriminalization and drug legalization can and does work and even reduces the
number of drug users.
Aside from that I don’t think the government should be
involved as “nanny-state” and dictate its citizens what they can or cannot use
in or on their bodies as long as they are aware of the possible consequences
and as long as they harm nobody else.
Let’s all support good and common sense as well as the
liberty of freedom of choice while keeping many of our fellow citizens on the
path of being functional and righteous members of our society and decriminalize
the use and possession of marijuana in Nevada.
