How did we get here? From “say no” to “yes” votes in not one but two states?
The answer goes beyond society’s evolving views, and growing acceptance, of marijuana as a drug of choice.
In Washington ”” and, advocates hope, coming soon to a state near you ”” there was a well-funded and cleverly orchestrated campaign that took advantage of deep-pocketed backers, a tweaked pro-pot message and improbable big-name supporters.
Good timing and a growing national weariness over failed drug laws didn’t hurt, either.
‘Brave New World’, here we come.. (halfway there, if not more)
In 25 years when we are hit with another epidemic of lung cancer, COPD, emphysema, and mental deterioration, then the tune will change again. The damage from long-term use of drugs is so obvious out on the streets now, with hundreds of homeless people in the immediate downtown area where I work roaming around talking to themselves or not being able to concentrate on anything, you would have thought folks would have already figured it out.
This is just Big Tobacco, Part II (or the Gaming Industry). People making hundreds of millions of dollars promoting a harmful product in the name of “personal freedom,” through spending millions of dollars on lobbying and advertising.