Get ready to clutch your pearls, because apparently, the simple act of legalizing cannabis is enough to plunge the nation’s youth into mortal peril. At least, that’s the wildly imaginative theory put forth by Senator Pete Ricketts, and independent challenger Dan Osborn is having a field day making sure Nebraska voters don’t forget it. Osborn’s latest campaign ad cheekily resurrects a gem from Ricketts’ time as governor, wherein he bravely warned that “If you legalize marijuana, you’re gonna kill your kids.” Naturally, the ad then segues into more mundane political grievances, but the sheer absurdity of the opening claim sets a deliciously snarky tone. It’s a bold strategy to double down on ‘Reefer Madness’ rhetoric in a state where over 70% of voters have already backed medical marijuana. One has to wonder if the Senator also believes that looking directly at a hemp plant will turn you to stone. Osborn, meanwhile, is painting himself as the voice of reason, pointing out that maybe—just maybe—regulating the stuff is a smarter move than pretending it’s a lethal poison while actual high schoolers easily score it on the black market. It’s a fascinating political theater, watching a candidate try to unseat an incumbent by simply quoting the incumbent’s most preposterous soundbites back to him. Perhaps the real danger here isn’t the cannabis, but the political fallout from such aggressively unscientific scaremongering.
Keep it weird,
~-JohnsJoints
