Pot - Not The Thing You Cook In

 Pot - Not The Thing You Cook In

Like it or not legalized Pot will be in your state sooner rather than later. The reason is simple - it's a tremendous revenue generator.  Legalized Pot has saved some towns from going bankrupt. Legalized Pot has slowed down the cartels forcing them to move on to other drugs. Legalized Pot has allowed the Police to focus on much more important crimes.

What will happen if the country legalized Pot? The right answer is the same thing that happened when we legalized booze. Some people will become Potaholics, but the vast majority will not. Some people will drive under the influence and wreck their car or worse kill somebody. However, the reality is that less people under the influence of Pot do the things above than the people who are drunks.

How do I know all of this? The answer is I lived in Amsterdam for eighteen months. As a matter of fact my apartment was two stories above from a Bull Dog Cafe. I could get a contact high just by opening my window. Since Pot is legal in Amsterdam, there are many Cafes. The Bull Dog is the most popular chain in Amsterdam.

When I went to Amsterdam I thought there would streets and parks lined with potheads. Not True. Everybody was as normal as any of us in America. People mostly ride bikes in Holland. If everybody was stoned out of their mind do you really believe they could ride a bike in major traffic - no freaking way. Work productivity is at the same level as it is in the United States. Crime is down because nobody has to hurt somebody to get Pot. They just walk into a Bull Dog. 

Amsterdam takes drugs seriously. However, instead of punishing drug user (or prostitutes for that matter) the Government helps them. Yes, you can smoke Pot at a Cafe, but they are not allowed to serve you booze. Booze has to be sold at a non-pot owned store, cafe, or restaurant. You can take Pot home from a Cafe, but you can't smoke it in public surroundings. 

Growing Pot is controlled by the Government and taxed by the government. You have to control the growing part because Pot is a weed. Anybody can grow it. Just take a few good seeds throw them in good soil and with the right amount of water and sunshine you get Pot in about three to five months. This is why the cigarette and alcohol companies don't want Pot legalized because it's just a weed. No years of curing leaves or distilling alcohol.

The Dutch Government also has many treatment programs for Pot and other drugs (including booze). If you want to get off of Heroin all you need to do is go to a drugstore and get Methadone. Methadone will allow you to gradually decrease your dependency of Heroin.

If it works in Amsterdam, I'm sure it will work in America. Many would say: we already have an alcohol problem in this country why make it worse by Legalizing Pot. The answer is MONEY. If we can create a revenue source, we can use that money to help people instead of punishing them. 

We can lower crime. We can minimize underage kids from getting Pot if we take it off the streets and into stores forbidden to sell to kids. We can enable the millions and millions of Americans who already are smoking Pot to stop getting it from a crook who might be selling them Pot mixed with dangerous stuff. 

I'm telling everyone who hates this blog, Legalized Pot is coming like it or not. Prohibition sounds great, but we found out it just doesn't work. Give the people the freedom to choose. The vast majority will make the right choice. Help the people who make the wrong choice. 

Personally I don't like Pot. It changes my personality from being out there schmoozing with people to sitting on my sofa alone eating Twinkies. My choice is my glass of Scotch every day. 

Sooo, here is a toast to the responsible Alcohol and soon to be responsible Pot smokers of the world.