Who are your legislators?
As someone who has experienced cannabis daily for the last five plus years, I find it troubling that in 2017, people do not think for themselves. While the media sometimes has great intentions, let’s not forget they are a business. We cannot take everything we see on the news as a necessarily factual truth any longer. The media is so eager to make headlines, they tend to shy away from touchy subjects or anything that could damage their revenue stream. I’m not here to bash the media, honestly I would like to see more journalist push back and regain some of the integrity the profession demands. At no time in my life, have I been so aware of the effect the media can play in pushing for change. Choosing not to act, in this case, is just as bad as doing the wrong thing.
Being a Cannabis Advocate in this state has proven at times to push my patience. Stubborn behavior and close-mindedness can really wear down a person who does not have enough dedication toward their cause. This past year in Hartford was full of ups and downs. Some legislators were open to looking for new revenue streams for the state, others just wanted to cut state and municipal programs to make a budget, while an even smaller vocal group looking to correct the ship. Fast forward to present day, we are awaiting to see if Governor Dannel Malloy will sign signed the new budget proposal, one which does not include legalization of the adult consumption of marijuana and only keeps up moving forward for two years. I honestly do not know what the legislators are thinking.
Regardless of how many events, letters or testimonies people made just this year, I feel we were meet with deaf ears and blank faces. Not all of our representatives are blinded by prohibition, some are interested in hearing the facts being proven more and more every day. However, I was truly shocked not to see one bill make it out of a single committee. Especially hurtful was the lack of initiative to pass the two bills related to Veteran access. Not even the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs would step-up and help those brave men and women of our Armed Services. Their inability to assist Veterans, something which they are tasked to perform, only takes advantage of those seeking assistance outside the realm of the Veteran Affairs. When is enough, enough?
According to a recent Sacred Heart Poll, 70.6 percent of Connecticut State respondents strongly or somewhat support legalizing and taxing marijuana. The poll surveyed 1,000 people by phone and online from Oct. 3-12, 2017 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. This level of support marks a significant increase since the last poll in 2015, which showed 63% approval for making marijuana legal for adults.
The poll was conducted specifically in the context of the state’s ongoing budget crisis, and the proposal to help fix this issue by regulating and taxing marijuana was the most popular solution. Sixty percent of respondents said that the state budget should be fixed by “creating new sources of tax revenue,” while under 33% supported cutting services, and a mere 15% supported raising existing taxes.
But where is this new tax stream in the new proposed budget? Why was recreational marijuana left out? I doubt the legislators all of a sudden gained a conscience and decided taxation wasn’t the best reason to legalize adult consumption. That can’t be it. It’s obvious the state has no interest in legalizing the plant or they would have. They do not see the last 80 years of prohibition being harmful. Prohibition was all a flat out lie in which some used to advance their own interests, such as Anslinger and Nixon to name a few. It is even rumored, two months before he hosted a conference on narcotics at the White House, President John F. Kennedy smoked marijuana with his mistress, American socialite Mary Meyer, according to retired history professor Michael O’Brien, who wrote the book “John F. Kennedy: A Biography.”
How many more families need to be devastated monetarily, legally, mentally, and or physically? How many people need to die in this country before the federal government will act? I will guarantee it will be fair longer than we can all hope, if we can’t get our own state legislators to stand up for what is right and just. If we want to force action on the federal level, we need more controlled action on the state level.
Where does this leave us now?
We need to identify who our representatives are and where they stand. If they don’t support your ideals, they should not be your representative. Each official is elected to be the voice of his or her constituents, if they have proven to fail to represent your community, then they themselves have failed. Why would you give someone a second chance, when they simply put their agenda and initiatives before your own?
I am not the only one who is amazed we have career politicians in Hartford who can sit there, smile, and think they are doing a significant job, all the while ignoring 70% of the population. Your vote is more apparent on the local level, if you are not happy, vote your incumbent out and give new blood an opportunity. This upcoming year is significant as many legislators are up for re-election. Vote for what you believe is best for Connecticut, if that is legalization, let your voices be heard loud and proud. We are not addicts, derelicts, victims, or bad people. We are the future! We demand transparency, truth, and a government which supports and promotes the rights of the people who live here in Connecticut.
If you are not in support of legalization, pick up some literature and try to educate yourself with an open mind. The Federal government has already told you there are no medical benefits from marijuana, yet holds a Patent # 6,630,507 on Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. What else have they told us to be true? If they want to be the boy who cries wolf, fine, but when do we stop listening. I will no longer, sit by and be played a fool.
Updated 10/31/2017 7pm
