By Jonathan Lewis Smith
Volume 4 Issue 5
People enjoy thinking things happen the way they are supposed to. However, those whom have been criminalized and victimized for their use of marijuana know that things could have gone differently. Whether you know an activist in the community or not, the legality of Marijuana is an issue that is part of our lives and part of New Mexico’s ecosystem of socio-economic forces.
The question for us then becomes; “What difference can our collective choices make in Marijuana policy and its’ future consequences?” Since we do all have a choice.
One very clear example of choice is this past election. No individual can take full responsibility for the outcome, despite the clear consequences the outcome will have on our futures. Democracy exemplifies the power collective choice, yet all the time there are less obvious things that happen because we all choose, or do not choose, to act. Admittedly sometimes choices are limited, with barriers to decision making power standing in the way of the public ‘will’. Such barriers take the form of laws and bureaucratic processes, incumbent legislative authority, wealth, poverty, and many other circumstances that dictate what choices people are empowered to make, and equally, be disenfranchised from making. Such barriers aren’t evil, but can become belligerent and unjust if unchanging in the face of clear collective choice.
To the New Mexican people of this state, our future is full of choice. Consider the full legalization of Marijuana, for medical, industrial, and recreational use…
In one possible future the clear choice is made to legalize pot, creating a counterculture to the black market and a dedicated tax stream for the state. The freedom to grow marijuana on a person’s property immediately disincentives the illegal drug trade, and provides a good example to rest of the country. The unleashed potential and passion of entrepreneurs brings added business to New Mexico and spurs innovation in our economy, and our public education and safety improve while “Marijuana Crimes” are essentially eliminated. In this future New Mexicans become positive influencers here and for other states, a instilling a culture of pride and responsibility for our community.
There is another future, the one where we ‘do nothing.’
Of course ‘doing nothing’ is also a collective choice of ours, as the consequences are going to be just as viscerally real as the consequences of our recent election. Budget deficits have already grown into the hundreds of millions of dollars while state programs always could use more funding instead of less. In this future, good people, usually New Mexico’s own sons and daughters, get ‘caught’ and criminalized for an act that would quickly fill our prisons and tyrannize our society if successfully enforced.
If we do nothing, it is impossible to separate the legal from the unjust. The majority of New Mexican’s believe Marijuana should be fully legalized, but the substance continues to be classified as a Schedule 1 drug, like heroin. How are people supposed to talk to each other, or parents to their growing children, if the subject of Marijuana ever comes up? If we don’t instill that sense of responsibility in ourselves aren’t we throwing the next generation to the wolves? We as grownups must have the respect for our choices dealing with Marijuana or our children will not know how to choose themselves. The decision is ultimately one that only a thinking and free adult, not our youth alone, can make. Until that future exists, people will keep going to jail, and people will keep getting hurt.
The choice to allow medical cannabis in New Mexico has already proven beneficial to the state economy. Other states have demonstrated what is possible with the plant, and a growing body of evidence speaks to the prosperity and wellbeing possible when states acquiesce to the collective will regarding Marijuana. Even so, the Medical Marijuana industry in New Mexico has been challenged by the states’ attitude toward its’ statutory responsibilities and its duty to citizens. The industry is currently “capped” and limited in production, raising prices for patients. Without a clear collective choice on this issue, the situation seems stuck in place.
Outcomes from a choice are often unknown, but the purpose of a collective decision is not. People need to get organized and remember the part they play in formulating collective choices. Simpler things like writing to your elected representatives, answering an opinion poll online, peacefully demonstrating on the sidewalk, or joining an organization for change can convince the collective that such a choice is necessary. Without that effort many issues, not just ones regarding Marijuana, will not enter into the arena of collective choice.
The most direct way of course is to get Marijuana legalization on the ballot for the next election. But the easiest choice is to do nothing. You have two years to sign up for the organization of your choice, and next election cycle will be one where almost everyone will be galvanized! This is a chance mobilize and make your individual actions count! It’s time to see the choice were making every day not to act, and to know, every day, that there is an alternative.
