This Election Day, two states (Washington and Colorado) made history as the first states to legalize cannabis (weed) for non-medical use since it was banned in the 1930s. Notably, both states have chosen an age limit of 21 rather than 18. Thus, it is worth discussing how Twenty-One Debunked stands on cannabis-related issues, which until now have really not been much of a priority for us.
In a nutshell, our creed shall apply to cannabis the same as it does for alcohol, provided that cannabis is already legal or just about to be legalized. That means that we support an age limit of 18 rather than 21 for purchase and/or possession, and no criminal penalties or criminal record for anyone simply possessing or consuming it. Passing around a joint or bong should be treated no differently than passing around a tobacco cigarette or a bottle of beer. Growing one's own cannabis (within reason) should be treated no differently than growing one's own tobacco or brewing one's own beer or wine. In addition, we support reasonable taxation, regulation, advertising restrictions, and strict quality control of any legally-sold cannabis, and we support tough penalties for driving under the influence.
However, in states where cannabis is still illegal, our creed shall remain irrelevant and Twenty-One Debunked will not push for legalization in such states since we really have no dog in the fight. We will leave that cause up to the True Spirit of America Party (TSAP), which strongly supports full legalization of cannabis in all 50 states and especially at the federal level. But Twenty-One Debunked shall remain neutral on the issue of legalization of any substances other than alcohol.
Let us make it clear that you do NOT have to support legalization of cannabis to join our movement, which is primarily concerned with the drinking age and other alcohol-related issues. For those pragmatists who do support legalization but believe the age limit should initially be 21 in order to get the bill or initiative to pass (and then lowered to 18 at some point in the future), we see no harm in you joining either. But those ageists who strongly support legalization only for those over 21 (and harsh penalties for 18-20 year olds who indulge) are probably NOT going to be an asset to our movement to lower the drinking age to 18. Liberty for "just us, not all" has never been our style, and never will be.
I do not support laws or rules which say that a person has to be 21 or order to smoke Cannabis. The smoking age for Cannabis should be 18 if a person has a high school diploma because she or he has graduated from high school or 19 if a person doesn't have a high school diploma. This is a sensible approach so it's better than the ageist approach that was used in Washington state and Colorado. I'm not a Cannabis legalization activist but if Cannabis smoking was legalized, it should be done in a non-ageist way. I agree with Ajax the Great because "just us, not all" is wrong regarding the drinking age and the Cannabis smoking age.
ReplyDeleteThough I would ideally prefer 18 across the board for both alcohol and cannabis, having it be 19 for those who haven't finished high school is reasonable enough to support and definitely a LOT better than 21. In fact, it would probably not be unreasonable to make the general age of majority the same (18 with a diploma, 19 without), as long as it is true for ALL adult rights and responsibilites. Though I do think that a GED should be treated the same as a high school diploma for such purposes.
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