A World Where Pot Is Legal

Cannabis

In honor of 4/20, the unofficial holiday--of murky origins--of the American pothead, NPR does a concept piece imagining a world where marijuana has been legalized. On the pro side are a criminal defense lawyer and Willie Nelson, who says the only con he's experienced is that his "old friends who dealt it are out of work." Against the reform is a lisping El Paso cop with 20 years in narcotics who says that Mexican cartels have been forced to drop prices and increase the potency of the product that formerly made them most of their money--and that that's resulted in an uptick in emergency room visits. (Uh for what exactly? Acting stupid and craving junk food?) Another naysayer says children have easier access to weed now. (As a former high school student, that strikes me as totally absurd. Illegal drugs were way easier to come by than booze.) Whatever the pros and cons of the story, it's worth a listen. More important, it's just one of a flurry of legalization fantasies popping up in the mainstream press these days. Here's another from today's New York Times.