e war effort. Today, there is another marijuana arrest every 65 seconds, and about 85% of these are for simple possession of the plant. In several states, any marijuana "crime" is considered a felony, and the person caught will spend jail time and lose his or her rights to vote and to bear arms. Today the American government spends billions of dollars to prosecute, arrest, and detain otherwise law-abiding marijuana consuming citizens. Thirty-five states have declared their wish to legalize marijuana in one form or another, from medicine to full recreational use. However, these states are still stymied by the federal government's vendetta against hemp. It is once again, time for hemp to be legal in the United States. The first step in a rational approach to the drug problem is the immediate decoupling of marijuana from the other Schedule I drugs as heroin, and morphine and a federal decriminalization with a view toward legalization. It is nothing short of absurd that people have been indelibly branded as criminals and in some cases are actually serving sentences in penal institutions for doing exactly what our own Chief Executive has admitted to (I have often mused what a Queens County Criminal Court Judge would react to a defendant’s statement:“ …but Your Honor, I never inhaled ..”) The list of politicians, present and would–be office holders, sports and entertainment figures who have flippantly admitted to past and current marijuana use is too lengthy too be quoted but is common knowledge. This has had a devastating effect on the average citizen’s perception of our justice system. If what an inner city youth is arrested and put through the court system for doing what is a source of recreation for those in a higher socio-economic bracket, what perception of the equality of justice are we giving these kids?If marijuana were to go head to head against alcohol in terms of effects both beneficial and ...
