Wanting Weed
The Marijuana Take Over
By
Sengbe Ben Yosef
After many
years of fighting to legalize marijuana, it seems the proponents of legalizing
weed are on the cusp of a huge victory in the fight to legalize marijuana.
However, even before they people who have worked the hardest and sacrificed the
most can raise their glasses to celebrate, big business looks poised to jump in
and take over. The states that have legalized the use of recreational weed,
they have seen a boom in their economies and have made large amounts of money.
In Colorado, one of the first states to legalize pot for recreational use has
already seen the profit of legal weed to the tune of nearly a billion dollars
in the first year. If all of the states pondering legalizing marijuana come
online the pot business could become a 30 plus billion dollar industry overnight.
Sounds like
a win, win situation for everyone involved, right? But it may not look so good
when large corporations enter the picture. They have already started looking
down states and lawmakers to try to corner the market and shut the small
growers out of the game. In my opinion, it would be a tragedy if the people who
risked everything to get legalization of the table got pushed out of the pot
industry. The prospect of that happening seems totally unfair given the fact
that some of these same corporations and their owners may have fought against
the small marijuana farmers in the early goings of the fight to legalize weed.
I sincerely hope that small businesses are not shut out by the large agricultural companies. I hope lawmakers work to make
sure the little guy can stay in the picture.
Outside of
that one issue, I believe that weed could be good for the overall economy of
this country especially given the fact that America doesn’t have many homegrown
industries left in this country. Just think if lawmakers don’t drop the ball
this could be a boost to our struggling economy and a way for smaller business
owners to get back some of what was lost during the collapse of Wall Street.
This could also be a way back for the American worker and may alleviate some of
the fanatical hardships the people have endured over the last few years. I want
to see this industry grow and blossom in our struggling economy but if that
means it’s going to become one more thing that the masses of the people are
shut out of then I don’t want to see it happen. This movement to legalize
marijuana needs to stay in the hands of the people who have suffered the most
and work the hardest. This industry should not become just another means for
business to shut out those whom they deem unworthy.
So legalize
marijuana because the people want it and it’s the most responsible thing to do
when you consider that the alternative to legalization hasn’t worked. Think of
the money that could be made if we execute this properly. Think of all of the
jobs that could be created for the people and the lower crime rates because
people will have dignified work instead of hopelessness. Think of the courts
and law enforcement and all the resources that could be freed up to deal with
more pressing issues in our communities. Think for the weekends and less
drunken bar fight and more happy times. This is just the opinion of one former
pot head and dealer who would like to see a change in this economy for all
people. Plus I don’t big business growing my weed.
