(TargetLiberty.org) – America has been fighting a war on drugs for three decades. When it started out, it was necessary. The country was in the midst of a crack epidemic and Republican President Ronald Reagan was trying to stop people from killing themselves. But is it really necessary to have a war on drugs today?
Marijuana was one of the biggest targets of the war on drugs, but many states are now legalizing it. Some states even allow residents to possess recreational pot, while Republican strongholds like Florida and Mississippi have legalized it for medicinal purposes.
A recap of #cannabis initiatives in the #Elections2020
* New Jersey goes Rec
* Arizona goes Rec
* Mississippi approves #MedicalMarijuana
* Montana Embraces Recreational #Weed
* SD Legalizes Both Medical & Adult-Use
All the coverage on @Benzinga#BZCannabishttps://t.co/x8c34DZmMl— Javier Hasse (@JavierHasse) November 4, 2020
Even President Donald Trump believes the pot policies are up to individual states. Why does this matter?
It shows the country is moving forward. By ending the war on marijuana, Republicans and Republican states have allowed residents to take control of their health care. Some of them are even using pot instead of opioids, a pharmaceutical drug that’s killing thousands. The legalization movement might even allow local governments to reallocate the money used to enforce marijuana laws toward other public health initiatives. Also, there’s the added bonus of hurting Mexican drug cartels that traffic weed by growing our own legally.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it should be available to everyone. We must still protect children from accessing it, as we would with other narcotics. Aside from that, there’s a real possibility this could be good for the future of public health.
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