Medicinal Marijuana: It's A Jersey Thing

The road to 2019 continues to get a lot greener -- and we aren't talking about the worthless Federal Reserve Notes. Tuesday, Governor Chris Christie officially made New Jersey the 16th state to allow medicinal marijuana dispensaries to be opened, after a two-year delay by the governor to ensure the users and sellers of the drug wouldn't face federal persecution.

A letter from the Justice Department assured Gov. Christie that New Jersey's laws would not be targeted by them, stating that medicinal marijuana is not a top priority of either the Obama administration or the department. To keep any trouble with the Justice Department to a minimum, the law will limit the distribution of medicinal marijuana to six licensed vendors which will not be allowed to make home deliveries or use the marijuana in an edible form (so my apologies to our pot brownie fans out there). Also, the marijuana itself will be limited to only 10% THC content, the chemical in the plant that makes you high, and patients can only buy 2 ounces of marijuana every 30 days. Some critics consider these restrictions to be rather harsh, especially to those dispensaries that might be too far away for some patients to get to, but supporters say the law will be refined over time, and that implementation was the most important thing right now. Originally published at www.silverunderground.com.

Why Compromise Makes Things Worse

As we move into another election cycle, there are some major moves coming down the pipeline around marijuana legalization. Two states, California and Colorado, will push for full legalization this year with a ballot iniative, and Washington or Oregon may as well.

One point that all of these states have in common that activists will have to overcome the already-passed Medical Marijuana laws in each of these states.  One might think that simply because these laws are passed and marijuana is widely available, taking the next step should be easy. However, this state of affairs can actually hinder the legislative process for a number of reasons.

First and foremost (at least to the liberty-minded) is something that I covered in my piece on why Prop. 19 died in California:  embedded interests who enjoy government protection from competition.

The War on Drugs is the new Slavery

A new book from an Ohio State law professor reports that there are now more black American men in prison, jail, on probation, or on parole than were enslaved in 1850.  This is largely due, the author has found, to the impact of the War on Drugs, which is "'waged almost exclusively in poor communities of color,' she said, even though studies have shown that whites use and sell illegal drugs at rates equal to or above blacks."  Here's an interview with the author:

Read more here.  Hat tip to Matt Cockerill.

Zombie Raaaaacism vs Real Racism

Tom DiLorenzo's ultra-PC university (but I repeat myself) is considering disciplining him for ties to a "hate group." Must leftish organizations always comport themselves like zombies?

Incidentally, if the hate-sniffers of hyper-liberal academia and the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center truly cared about ending racism (rather than employing the term as an epithet against dissidents who deviate from the Oprahized, Dr. Phil-approved PC line), they would turn their crosshairs on real racism: I.E. the War on Drugs, The Wars overseas, and The Federal Reserve.

The more uplifting elements of the left's platform are hobbled by their attachment to the state; they love it more than they hate racism (or love peace).