Elon Musk Set Bad Example With Smoking Dope

I still think that people in the public spotlight have a responsibility to cut a better image than the rest of society.  I want singers, movie stars, and professional athletes to walk a little straighter, and act with decency knowing that others are looking at them.  Especially young and impressionable youth.

That goes for business people, too, who have at times a ‘rock star’ following.  Such as Elon Musk.

Between the swigging of whiskey and the toking of pot there was little left to consider when it came to wondering if Musk cared about how others felt.  It was clear he did not think much of himself, and even less-so about others.

When one has talent with a business, a musical instrument, or making balls slip into a hoop there also comes the responsibility to use that public fame for more than just making a profit.  There should also be an awareness that being a solid citizen and role model comes with being well-known.

People can make all sorts of arguments about how some places have legalized marijuana and how the pot-smoking part of society is so wide-spread there is no more shame about it, or reason not to do it in public.  But I just reject that as many still know common-sense and good taste never are old-fashioned or worn out.  Plus, there is much medical data to support why young minds still forming should not have drugs curtailing a full and normal growing period.

There is no doubt that pot smoking makes users less attentive, slows learning, alters decision-making, and decreases memory.  But we also know that heavy marijuana use in a teenage body or even early adulthood has been associated with poor school performances, higher dropout rates, increased welfare dependency and greater unemployment.

So bravo for Musk in getting his name on the business pages but he earns nothing more than a raspberry for not standing taller as a person.  He owes more to the young people than to show such bad behavior in public.

Legalizing Pot Remains Bad Idea

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg nails the answer.

When an audience member asked the 72-year-old Bloomberg about Colorado marijuana, he responded that it was a terrible idea, one that is hurting the developing minds of children. Though he admitted to smoking a joint in the 1960s, he said the drug is more accessible and more damaging today.

“What are we going to say in 10 years when we see all these kids whose IQs are 5 and 10 points lower than they would have been?” he asked. “I couldn’t feel more strongly about it, and my girlfriend says it’s no different than alcohol. It is different than alcohol. This is one of the stupider things that’s happening across our country.”

Pot Story

This is what happened at our home today.

I am outside and a van pulls up and opens their side door. Four young men jump out and the air smells like a money cage as the inside is littered with blankets and food and sleeping bags and garbage.

They linger about and sprawl out on the terrace–granted that is not ‘my lawn’–expect I plant and take care of it all–so, yeah it kind of is our lawn.

I had no real problem until they lit a joint. I meandered over hoping my slow pace might alert them so I would not need to confront them. No such luck.

Me: You are not really going to smoke dope on my lawn, are you?

Smoker: (as he moves fast to pretend there is nothing to see) You a cop?

Me: I can get a cop here if that will help resolve this matter.

Fast movement as the four take a different perspective of where they parked their van.

Count me as one who does not want that crap ever made legal in my state.

Another Reason To Oppose Legalizing Pot

Chris Rickert had a column in the Wisconsin State Journal that really made a point about why legalizing pot would be a bad idea.

The columnist made a point I had never considered before, but it is mighty valid when we consider the drinking culture we deal with here all the time.

The worst would be that pot becomes so socially and culturally accepted that it becomes difficult to take the drug’s negative ramifications seriously — because, well, it’s so socially and culturally accepted.

That’s basically the history of Wisconsin’s relationship with alcohol, which is so woven into our existence that even nation-leading binge-drinking and drunken-driving rates can’t spur lawmakers to make first-offense drunken driving a crime or raise the beer tax.

The question is whether the benefits of legal pot are worth the risk of another such dysfunctional relationship.

No Room For Marijuana Use With Milwaukee Bucks

I much applaud this move by the Milwaukee Bucks as is sets an example for our youth.

Bucks center Larry Sanders has been suspended five games by the league for violating terms of the NBA’s drug program.  Sanders said in a statement released by the team that he was suspended for using marijuana. Rightfully the NBA sets some standards for drug abuse, and as such imposes a five-game suspension upon the third positive test for marijuana use.

There are consequences for bad decisions.  Furthermore I am very much in favor of athletes setting better examples for our youth.  If they can not do that on their own, then there will be repercussions.

Governor Jerry Brown Says Potheads Not Able To Stay Alert

Governor Brown made it clear where he stands in relation to marijuana.  Many stand right alongside him on this issue.  Brown made his comment on Meet The Press Sunday morning.

If pot smoking gains more legitimacy in the nation’s most populous state, Brown said he worries it could have negative ripple effects.

“The problem with anything, a certain amount is OK. But there is a tendency to go to extremes,” he said in a wide-ranging interview aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And all of a sudden, if there’s advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation?”

“We have medical marijuana, which gets very close to what they have in Colorado and Washington. I’d really like those two states to show us how it’s going to work,” he said. “The world’s pretty dangerous, very competitive. I think we need to stay alert, if not 24 hours a day, more than some of the potheads might be able to put together.”

 

State Governors (Correctly) Are Not Thrilled With Making Marijuana Legal

There is no doubt that the hype over some great desire to legalize marijuana is far more a pro-driven PR campaign from the cannabis crowd than a genuine political movement.  There is more smoke than substance to the idea that one should be able to smoke a reefer anytime the mood strikes.  There is a difference between polling questions, real politics, and the crafting of thoughtful policy.

And this blogger is very pleased with this news.

The words from Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper stated it quite clearly, and correctly.  “Marijuana doesn’t make people smarter, doesn’t make people healthier,” and puts young people especially at risk.

It may seem corny and old-fashioned but there is no doubt that marijuana is a gate-way drug.  If one is open to the idea of this drug, and finds avenues to secure its use then it is only a matter of time before other drugs are tried, and used.  As a society we need to have clear-headed people in leadership who can say no to ideas that will only damage our nation.  The current crop of governors seem to understand their role when it comes to this matter.

I am very pleased that Hickenlooper has even went so far as to tell other governors to not follow at this time Colorado’s law as the consequences are not known.  In other words the results of young people using more marijuana will likely prove to be not something that other states should emulate.    Make no mistake about it, marijuana use in Colorado among the young will increase, and that is not something that other state need to encourage.

New Hampshire Governor Hassan agrees and says her state already has too high of a rate of youth substance abuse, and does not need to add to the problem.

“I don’t support the legalization of marijuana, and that’s been my position for a long time and will continue to be,” Indiana Governor Mike Pence, a Republican, said on CNN’s “State of the Union”.

Several governors did not see any follow-the-leader effect on the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, as Washington and Colorado have done.

Connecticut, for example, does allow pot use for medical reasons and has lessened the punishment for possessing small amounts of the drug, but has not made it legal.  “I think that’s about as far as we go,” the state’s Democratic governor, Dannel Malloy, said on the CNN program.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon also left the door open to some marijuana use for medical purposes, but ruled out any action beyond that.  “I think that folks are beginning to see, if there are things which the medical community can help on … our legislature and our people might consider that,” Nixon, a Democrat, said.  “To move beyond that is, at this point, I would say a bridge too far, but that bridge has not yet been built.”

Pat Robertson Wrong About Wanting Marijuana Use To Be Legal

This is perplexing to me.

I am not in favor, nor have I ever been in favor of the legalization of marijuana, except for medical purposes.  Some cancer patients find marijuana useful with pain relief and increasing appetite.  Legalization of marijuana runs counter to what I think is in the best interest of the nation.  I totally understand I am in the minority when it comes to legalization of this drug.

I suspect it may almost seem alien to admit I have never once tried marijuana.  I also have never once tried a cigarette.  Hard to believe perhaps, but true.

My dad smoked cigarettes in my youth, and as a result I never wanted any part of them.  In my early teen years my dad stopped smoking, and the whole family continually applauded him for the effort at making his health, and our lives better.

I have never felt the need to escape via drugs, or to have some alternative reality to cling to as a means of coping.  As a teenager I loved to go biking into the country, and now long walks with James clears the mind and adds perspective.

While I am very aware that a long list of notables on all sides of the political spectrum have weighed in over time on why legalization of marijuana and other drugs is a rational approach our government should be taking, I have never been able to agree.

Old-fashioned perhaps, but that is just how I feel.

Getting to the root causes of why someone has bouts of anger, boredom, depression, anxiety, (reasons many turn to marijuana) would be a far more useful and productive use of time than to light a joint.  Life will be much richer in a wide variety of ways if the higher path can be found, as opposed to a haze of smoke.

So, yes, I am just perplexed by the words of Pat Robertson.  I have often differed with him on a wide range of issues, but I suspected we would agree on this one dealing with marijuana.

Robertson is a man who promotes spiritual values, and as such I am at a loss to explain how  admitting defeat over a proven problem that demonstrates itself in many ways  is good for either the individual, or the nation.  How does what Robertson says in any way lift our nation to something better?  If the ‘war on drugs’ is not working, then it needs to be modified.  Handing the sling-shot over to Goliath and bending down is not my view of leadership or morality.

“I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol,” Mr. Robertson said in an interview on Wednesday. “I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.”       

Mr. Robertson’s remarks echoed statements he made last week on “The 700 Club,” the signature program of his Christian Broadcasting Network, and other comments he made in 2010. While those earlier remarks were largely dismissed by his followers, Mr. Robertson has now apparently fully embraced the idea of legalizing marijuana, arguing that it is a way to bring down soaring rates of incarceration and reduce the social and financial costs.       

“I believe in working with the hearts of people, and not locking them up,” he said.       

Mr. Robertson’s remarks were hailed by pro-legalization groups, who called them a potentially important endorsement in their efforts to roll back marijuana penalties and prohibitions, which residents of Colorado and Washington will vote on this fall.