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Don’t let reefer madness prevail

April 21, 2023

Milford, late 1975. That's when I first heard of pot. I smoked some. I enjoyed it, and it became a regular part of my life from that day on. Despite being illegal, it had always been easy to get. We used to dream back then about it being legal someday, but that seemed like pipe dreams. And now here we are at the threshold of just that. Yet the same old reefer madness still seems to prevail at the top of the state and federal governments. The same old lies and BS about this simple plant. Well, as a regular consumer for the vast majority of my life, let me share some truths with you.

Stoned driving? Guess what, it's been all around you the whole time. For most of my life, one of the only safe places to smoke cannabis was in a moving vehicle. Sitting someplace got you busted. So if this was an actual problem, you would have noticed it long before now. Drunk drivers kill people; stoned drivers, at worst, wait for the stop sign to turn green.
 
What about the kids? I have bad news here, too. School was one of the easiest places to buy pot. I'm sure that hasn't changed. The black market asks no questions about age or ID. And the only way to eliminate the black market is with a strong, fairly priced legal market.
 
Perhaps you think not many people do it because it's illegal. Sorry again, you'd be really surprised at how many smokers will never admit it outside of the circle. And quite honestly, it's not all that harmful. Most tokers, myself included,  started when they were young and in high school – or even middle school. Yet we turned out fine. We work steady jobs, we raise families, we pay taxes and we do everything else the rest of you do.
 
These days, I have a medical card, so my use has been legal for several years now. But you shouldn't have to be sick to legally enjoy a plant. And you can rest assured that not legalizing at this point will not stop anybody. They can drive to New Jersey – or soon Maryland – and purchase it legally, or just keep buying from their local weed guy like they have forever. And that's reality from this side of the issue.
 
Brian Howard
Magnolia
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