I’ve seen many arguments again pot legalization and I have found none of them convincing. The prize for the strangest argument goes to the liberal governor of California, who seems to be a very admirable politician in all other regards. HuffPo reports:
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said Sunday that he is not convinced legalizing marijuana is a good idea because the population needs to “stay alert.”
“The problem with anything, a certain amount is okay,” Brown said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “But there is a tendency to go to extremes. 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? 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.”
This is a very strange argument because the counter-argument is exactly right there, in the argument itself. It looks like as if Brown is arguing with himself, but he fails to listen to his own rational argument and sticks to his irrational position. Which is confusing. When someone says “we need to be alert” the answer is “well we also sleep, no one needs to be alert 24’7” and then he says exactly that. Then he says potheads are distracted all the time to which one would answer “well without excess it’s good” but then he says that too, which naturally means it shouldn’t be a crime. Like, alcoholics or game addicts don’t make a good argument for banning alcohol and video games, no?
Anyway, I don’t think liberals and democrats should let conservatives run away with this issue. They should “evolve” faster, or like gay marriage they’ll find themselves chasing after an already more progressive nation than themselves.