Our Reagan, and a Proposal(a letter to the President)

Mr President,

First, Congratulations!

I can hardly even express how Gratifying it has been to watch the squirming silence of the Tea People, here in Very Red Mason County, Texas.(80%R/20%D)

I am hopeful that this will prove to be a watershed election, analogous to Reagan. It is high time for the proverbial Pendulum to become unstuck from the Right side of it’s swing. You may have accomplished just that. Thank You.

The Republican Rump, in the House, will likely come to the table with you, so long as you keep the lights somewhat dimmed…but, while in the spotlight, they will appear to double down on the, apparently habitual, Crazy. 

Their vocal, but shrinking, Base demands it.

 Let them.

Give them all the rope they require…and they will lose the House in 2014.

Please, do not fear the word “Liberal”…neither should you fear comparisons to “Socialist Europe”.  The Economic and Social Policies that have so dominated these past 33 years are Bankrupt, and have proven this…by their own metrics and criteria.

Second, in order to further your Legacy…and to really unstick that Pendulum…I will now hand you an Idea…and a collection of Rhetorical Points(in a Ziploc, as it were).

Please direct the DEA, and the rest of Justice, to Unschedule Marijuana. End Marijuana Prohibition, once and for all, at the Federal Level.

There are many benefits to this action, and what negative consequences there are, are easily overcome.

1.       You’ll put the Libertarians, as well as the Libertarian Wing of the Republican Party in an uncomfortable quandary, which should be entertaining. At the same time, you will ensure that the Tea People, and their “handlers”, in the House, walk right into the trap of defending a draconian, nonsensical, mythology-based regime of repression, that the majority of Americans know all too well is founded on little more than Racism, Corporate Protectionism, and Ignorance. They won’t be able to help themselves, and will lose support from all but the most zealous of their base. Let the Rope that you give them, be  Hempen Rope! They’ve already delegitimized themselves, defending the indefensible… from hard core Misogyny to  the Pseudohistory of their “Christian Nationalism”, to the Failed Experiment with Reaganomics. You could hand them a Cause around which they would most certainly Rally, and, in the process, Lose.

2.       More importantly than mere Political Calculus, is that such an action would end…finally…the rationale for the inordinate growth of Prisons(especially the Unamerican “private” kind), the shameful incarceration of so many otherwise law-abiding People, and the wholesale destruction of most of the Bill of Rights. The Drug War(which is largely the War on Weed) is a Crusade, and an Inquisition…that sets neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, and that has turned our Police into a gang of thugs, snooping into everyone’s Privacy. It has enriched the “prison industry”(sic), and enabled the worst among us to engage in Inquisitorial Repression….especially , to be frank, of that segment of the population who compose at least a sizeable portion of  your own Base.
3. It costs a whole lot of Money to prosecute this war on People. I read, several years ago, that Texas spends millions of dollars, annually, attempting to eradicate “ditch weed”…which is wild Hemp, that not only will Not get anyone High, but is there, in the first place, due to Federal Encouragement, way back when, of Farmers to grow Hemp for the war effort.
In addition to the enormous sums spent tracking, surveilling, chasing and snooping…and then prosecuting and incarcerating, then paroling…otherwise law abiding Citizens, who happen to like Pot….in addition to all that Money, is the, largely uncounted, untold Billions in Lost Wages, Lost Careers, Lost Lives(wrong address) and broken families that result from this misguided endeavor.
4. the current “Low Intensity Conflict”, on, and near, the Border with Mexico, could be, if not ended, outright…at least considerably Curtailed. Legalisation would remove a large chunk of change from the coffers of the Cartels, and their American Analogs, “Street Gangs” and “Prison Gangs”.

5. At the same time, our own Farmers could benefit by growing , not just Marijuana, but it’s even more useful(and non-psychoactive!) Cousin, Hemp…for food, fiber, pulp and fuel. Hemp doesn’t require fertilizers or pesticides, rebuilds soils that are depleted(remember, Cotton Kills Soils)), and, when grown to replace Wood Pulp, saves Forests. Roughly the same amount of useable biomass can be derived from an acre of Hemp, as from an acre of Forest…but, where the Forest takes decades to regrow, the Hemp takes one year.

6. Put all of this, and more, together, and it amounts to a welcome stick in the eye of Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Booze, Big Law Enforcement, Big Addiction, and Big Paper and Forest Products(Koch!!). None of these sectors are all that friendly to Democratic Ideals. Let them Holler.

7. Finally, such an action would go a long way in mitigating the seemingly perpetual soup of surreality we find ourselves swimming in, year after year. The Facts…. Objective, Clinical and Anecdotal…have always been on the side of Legalisation; yet, for decades, in order to win Public Office, one was required to Lie.
Whereas alcohol is the drug of Old Boy’s Clubs, Rednecks, NASCAR, and other, sundry, Right Leaning Constituencies…and is well known to be detrimental to Civil Society(yet cannot even be found in the DEA’s Classification Schema, which says Volumes!)…
On the contrary, Weed lends itself to Philosophical Speculation, Camaraderie and Non Violence.
It is the Relaxant of Choice for Thoughtful Introspection, and Compassionate Sharing(“Don’t Bogart that Joint, my friend…”).

I’ll stop, there. I hope I’ve given you (or whatever staffer ends up reading this) some food for thought. I’d also like to extend the perpetual Invitation to sneak in to Mason, and have some Bar-B-Que…I am famous for Pork Ribs…and , to boot, I’m likely in a rather severe Minority of supplicants to your Office, who will Not use such a hypothetical, informal visit, for any personal or political gain. (My 2 boys would probably have difficulty keeping it secret, however,lol)
In the outside chance that such an invitation is considered(one can hope), just let me know how many(Spooks, Snipers and other Secret Service Types, included) that I will be cooking for.
Say hello to Michelle and the Girls, and know that there’s at least a few sane supporters of your Endeavors in Mason, Texas.
Keep up the Good Work,

Josef