Culture Change
The culture surrounding marijuana in America is changing. January 17th‘ the New York Times’ “Ethicist” column, a weekly piece in which readers write in seeking advice about ethical dilemmas in their lives, ran a question from a parent regarding the ethics of his sons lying about his marijuana use on an insurance application. The son told the truth about his occasional marijuana use and was denied coverage. Should he have lied?
The ethicist’s answer was that “Some problems are simply not amenable to an honorable individualist solution…” He noted that the insurance company was wrong in asking the question in the first place because the information is “medically insignificant.” The reader stated that the insurance company agent, in a phone call to the son suggested he reapply in a year, implying that if he lied about his marijuana use then he would probably be granted coverage. It seems that everyone involved, the parent, the son, the columnist, and even the representative of the insurance company understood marijuana use was not a health problem. So why is this question still asked?
The following week’s Times ran a short essay from a reader who had survived her kayak capsizing in icy waters in Maine. She was rescued by a lobsterman and his sons who took her to shore in their boat. Describing being pulled from the water and given a blanket she mentions that “a joint was offered…” No more, no other comment, just a normal act of hospitality, the sharing of what they had with the boats new passengers. The old lobsterman sharing some marijuana with his two grown sons as they headed back to shore, pausing en route to rescue a couple of drowning kayakers. Nothing unusual in that is there?
This growing acceptance of marijuana use leads one to wonder why about 700,000 people are arrested for the drug each year, the vast majority for simple possession. Even government surveys where a government worker asks citizens if they have used an illegal drug (!) reveal tens of millions of marijuana users. Considering the circumstances of the survey and who is asking you to voluntarily confess to a crime the actual numbers must be much higher. Still those we elect to represent us are silent on the topic and, for the most part, the laws remain in place.
There are some small improvements here and there. Fourteen states have passed laws permitting marijuana use for medical purposes though the restrictions are so severe in most of them as to make it basically unobtainable. Seattle’s new city attorney Pete Holmes is dismissing all marijuana-possession cases. His refusing to prosecute will soon lead police to stop making arrests for possession…what’s the point if charges will be dismissed?
So why aren’t our elected representatives moving more rapidly and definitively to stop persecuting citizens for exercising their basic right as an adult? Why should they risk fines, jail time, embarrassment, and a criminal record for indulging in an act as harmless as smoking marijuana? Clearly it can only be a matter of time. After all, they tell us responding to the will of the people cannot be done overnight. We were promised that we’ll be withdrawing our troops from Iraq… that we’d be closing Guantanamo… that we’d have health care reform… that we’d have campaign finance reform… that our taxes would be lowered… blah… blah… blah…
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