Eric Blair

Recently on the campaign trail Mitt Romney said that he would fight marijuana legalization “tooth and nail”. During a town hall meeting in the “Live Free or Die” state, New Hampshire, Romney used the same tired argument that marijuana leads to a “culture of drugs” in young people.

This argument is increasingly becoming ridiculous, and the voting public knows it; all except the probably inebriated paid staffers clapping in the background.

It’s getting harder to blame drug abuse and justify the drug war on a non-addictive, non-fatal, natural herb that clearly helps relieve countless medical ailments. Incidentally, it’s getting harder to justify military-style raids and throwing people in cages over a flower. Or worse, killing them over a bag of weed.

The continued justification for the war on marijuana, whether from Romney or Obama, is beginning to make our leaders look foolish, especially since 17 states and Washington D.C. have legalized medical marijuana use, 15 states have already decriminalized cannabis, 3 states are voting on full legalization this fall, and many more have legislation moving through state governments.

But at least Romney addressed the issue this time. Back in May, he deflected a serious question about medical marijuana policy by calling it “irrelevant”. He arrogantly asks, “Aren’t there issues that are significant that you would like to talk about?”

Try telling that to the millions of people that marijuana helps every single day.

The hypocrisy is too obvious now for politicians to hide behind these “gateway” myths, and most taxpayers would like to stop wasting resources killing people and locking them up over cannabis. Worse still, these tired arguments continue while about 25% of America’s youth are forced onto dangerous prescription psychoactive drugs.

Not that Obama is any better. He plays like he’s sympathetic to states rights and medical marijuana patients to get votes, but he still sends Federal goon squads to raid state-legalized flower dispensaries.

But the trend is clear: marijuana legalization is going mainstream. State by state the people are speaking up and voting with logic and reasoning. There is no way the Feds can stop this momentum whether Romney or Obama is at the helm.

Marijuana legalization is an idea whose time has come. Anyone who can’t see that is quickly becoming politically irrelevant.

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