November 8, 2016 may be known to history as the “tipping point” that finally led to nationwide marijuana legalization in the U.S. With recreational legalization on the ballot in California, Nevada, Arizona, Maine and Massachusetts, tens of millions of people could join the ranks of those adults already allowed to buy cannabis legally for any reason.
And don’t get me wrong, that’s great. But, best case scenario is they all pass and the U.S. is still left in a sort of limbo, a “gray market” where the legality of marijuana will be different from state to state, county to county and even town to town. On top of that, cannabis will still be illegal on a federal level which means technically marijuana will still be under some form of illegality everywhere.
November 8th is not just about legalizing for adults in certain states. It’s also about lighting a fire under the butts of those in the federal government that have the power to end prohibition once and for all. Fortunately, some already see the writing on the wall.
“The good news is, is that after this referenda, to some degree it’s gonna call the question, because if in fact it passed in all these states, you now have about a fifth of the country that’s operating under one set of laws, and four-fifths in another,” President Barack Obama told Bill Maher in an interview released last week.
“The Justice Department, DEA, FBI, for them to try to straddle and figure out how they’re supposed to enforce laws in some places and not in others — they’re gonna guard against transporting these drugs across state lines, but you’ve got the entire Pacific corridor where this is legal — that is not gonna be tenable,” he said.
While it’s true that President Obama will no longer be in a position to do anything about it in a couple of months, what he says is true no matter who becomes President. Federal prohibition is being crippled right before our eyes, vote by vote, state by state. The ship is sinking and the train is leaving the station and the walls of prohibition will soon collapse under the weight of its massive failure.
But it’s up to us. Victory is not a reason to let up on the pressure on the federal government; if anything, it’s a reason to apply more pressure. When your enemies are on the run is when you attack with everything you have. Ultimate victory is in sight, and it is there for the taking.
Will you take it, or will marijuana remain in a “gray market” forever?
