Recreational marijuana is on the ballot in Oregon. If passed by voters, the adage “smoke ’em if you got ’em” will take on a new meaning. A recent poll showed 48% of registered voters favor the measure, with 15% undecided.
Ballot Title 91 “allows possession, manufacture, sale of marijuana by/to adults, subject to state licensing, regulation, taxation.” If enacted, Oregon will join Colorado and Washington where recreational pot already has been embraced. Similar measures are on the ballot this November in Alaska and the District of Columbia.
The measure in Oregon will permit possession by any person 21 years or older of up to one ounce of marijuana in a public place, and eight ounces at home as well as the growing of up to eight plants for personal consumption.
Since the right to privacy became an inevitable casualty of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01, I hope soon we can become one America and that the distinction between “red” and “blue” becomes nothing more than a sad commentary about an antiquated Age of Differences.
I suspect some law enforcement officers will oppose legalizing marijuana in other states. After all, getting a defendant to plead guilty to lesser charges has always greased the justice system in America. But the cost of having two distinctly different Americas – where illegal behavior is subject to search and frisk – extracts a difficult price on those whose sole priority is keeping all of us safe.
We can’t afford a secret society of smokers and tokers. For those who have hidden its personal use for decades, it’s time to finally come out of the closet. We make no bones about it; Alice and I voted “YES.” Ending the prohibition on marijuana is more patriotic than spending billions of dollars on a failed War on Drugs.
On another note, casting one’s ballot in the Beaver State is radically different than voting in Pennsylvania. Asserting one’s constitutional right to vote in the Keystone State entails waiting in line on Election Day, running a gauntlet of candidates and their supporters who pretend to be helpful, displaying acceptable identification (preferably a photo ID), and showing up at the right polling place. Newspapers serve as the primary source of explaining ballot issues and identifying candidates with their respective positions on topical issues.
By contrast, the entire process here out West offers comprehensive information in advance about each issue and candidate, facilitates voting by mail and is citizen friendly. Ballots are sent to registered voters by mail more than two weeks before an election, preceded by a voluminous “Voters’ Pamphlet” from Oregon’s Secretary of State. (For this election, the book-sized “pamphlet” consists of 164 recyclable pages supplemented by a county 48-page insert).
The booklet, written in plain English with arguments for and against each ballot measure, gives a full column of space to each candidate to spell out his or her position and insert a personal photo. The end result translates to a leisurely experience of marking one’s ballot at home while simultaneously perusing the wealth of information provided about each race.
Oregon is a forward-thinking state, and the ease of voting here sets a high-mark standard that the rest of the country needs to emulate. Perhaps some of those who can rewrite the laws should take a hit – of fresh air.