Majority of Americans support Medicare for All. But both parties are against it. Marijuana legalization is easier to pass than healthcare because there are no entrenched corporate interests against it:<p><a href="https://morningconsult.com/2021/03/24/medicare-for-all-public-option-polling/" rel="nofollow">https://morningconsult.com/2021/03/24/medicare-for-all-publi...</a>
> This is particularly the case among adults ages 75 and older: Just 32% say marijuana should be legal for recreational and medical use, by far the lowest share for any age category and 21 percentage points lower than adults in the next-oldest age group<p>Sadly most elected officials fall in these age groups.<p>Legalizing weed at the Federal level will be a huge win even in states that have already done so. The industry has a very hard time dealing with banking, credit card payments, advertising etc. right now.
It bothers me that this needs to be done piecemeal, substance by substance.<p>Our bodies are our own to build - they are own to destroy (or alter, or any other damn thing). The whole point of the war on drugs was to imprison minorities. The whole concept of drug prohibition should be done away with.<p>Millions of people are sitting in prison in the US simply because they did something entirely consensual and nonviolent, engaging in a willing transaction with an adult, and victimized no one.<p>The idea that you can't put whatever you want into your own body is diametrically opposed to the desire for personal liberty for which the US is known.
I’m fairly convinced we’re only about 5-10 acquisitions away from cannabis becoming legal via the legislative branch.<p>There’s 3 larges sectors that are still holdouts. Healthcare, alcohol, and tobacco industries.<p>Healthcare will never flip because there’s almost no revenue for them. The only thing they might be able to do is partner with Bayer and license/patent specific strains.<p>Tobacco exists because it’s addictive. CBD and hemp already offer sedative natural alternatives that are healthier and safer for the consumer. If you find anybody taking Wellbutrin or any drug that can cessate the nicotine withdrawal, they can easily kick the habit via cold turkey, or substitution.<p>Finally the last big industry is alcohol. I could talk about this pivot for hours but ultimately, look at what AB/InBev is doing. What have they poured millions of r&d into lately? Seltzer drinks. Edibles are expected to be the largest growth segment of the legal cannabis industry for the next 10 years. I already see it in various circles. Seltzer drinks are easily the next step for the alcohol industry. The issue now is how are these cards going to fall. Will they try to pace their way and drop tons of r&d into the legalization/testing efforts or will they try to leverage all of the existing infrastructure that exists in the legal cannabis industry?<p>That’s why I think we’re only about 5-10 acquisitions away from finding the answer. And once we have the answer, legalization will easily fall afterward.<p>Edit to add: Biden is doing a great job but this wasn’t one of his bullet points. He might have a difference of opinion. He might pursue something at the federal level. But I’m not counting on it. I fully believe that if these acquisitions happen before 2022 we’ll see it on ballots.
The biggest change I noticed with respect to legalization is that it used to be the case that you couldn't walk around the streets of downtown Seattle without being offered weed by street vendors, and sometimes other drugs. After legalization and marijuana stores the street vendors (at least those I encountered) basically disappeared.
I come to it from the view of prohibition being a known source of power for cartels. I suspect if the various prohibitions were relaxed enough (and safely) that cartels would lose a lot power. Could see less immigrants fleeing cartel violence?<p>But I fear legalization too. I fear people taking it too far and forcing a backlash and a new prohibition.
Oddly, Biden is a bigger holdout against full legalization than Congress.<p>>Biden’s blunt opposition to marijuana legalization<p><a href="https://www.vox.com/22387746/biden-marijuana-weed-legalization-schumer-polls" rel="nofollow">https://www.vox.com/22387746/biden-marijuana-weed-legalizati...</a>
I found myself wondering why we can’t just pass popular legislation as individual clean bills. In a climate where two thirds of Americans support a wealth tax, why not simply send a wealth tax to the Senate and see what happens?<p>The answer, unfortunately, lies in the many layers upon layers of ‘dealmaking’ that happens in congress that lead to popular bills being bundled with less popular ones. Combined with the trend of trying to pass everything through reconciliation, it means that we almost never get to see congress legislate individual issues.<p>That’s a shame. In software, we’d recognize this all-or-nothing approach as bad practice. It would be no surprise why nothing ever gets done, and we’d make a new process that favors incremental improvements.
I've supported legalization efforts in two states. But I kindof have regrets, now. And in fact, if I were in charge, I might leave it as an infraction.<p>I don't really want it to be illegal, but as far as I can tell, the same thing that happens to cigarette smokers happens to weed smokers: perspective on the fact that <i>smoking is the atmospheric equivalent of peeing in the pool</i> is lost.<p>And I wake up like I did last night at 1:30am having had a neighbor opt me into the experience via my open window next to the patio. Yay, personal liberty.<p>I have <i>zero</i> problem with people choosing it for themselves, but please, figure out a way to keep it personal.