Law & Politics

Chicago Mayoral Contenders Talk Cannabis Legalization, Source: http://img.ccdn.cannabisculture.com/files/images/6/Screen%20Shot%202012-06-27%20at%202.46.44%20PM.pngIllinois is becoming a hotbed in the legal marijuana debate. The state recently authorized medical marijuana and now recreational use is at the heart of conversation between the current mayor and a woman who may have her sights set on his chair.

Rahm Emmanuel, Chicago mayor and former White House Chief of Staff to Obama, does not think that legalizing recreational weed is a good idea. He said he doesn’t “think you should balance the budget by promoting recreational smoking of pot.”

I have to say, from a purely entertainment perspective, Rahm is one of my favorite politicians. I don’t often agree with him, but his attitude and approach are, at times, hysterical. Well Rahm, in this I humbly disagree. These are dire financial times for many people, I’m not sure any idea that stands to ameliorate the issue should be off the table, so long as it doesn’t do more harm than it solves.

It seems that Karen Lewis, Rahm’s potential mayoral challenger, disagrees as well. It was her notion to bring up the possibility of legalizing and taxing cannabis to help the budget. “I think it’s important for us to start thinking very differently about revenue sources,” Lewis said. “In Colorado, in the first quarter alone, the state generated $80 million. Come on. Not only that, but having a sensible drug policy stops a lot of other silliness.”

Amen.

When informed of Emmanuel’s comments regarding legalization, Lewis responded by lampooning his idea of opening a casino in the city. “I know for a fact that casinos have a devastating effect on families and communities, and people have lost their houses because they have gambling addictions and problems,” Lewis said. “But recreational usage of marijuana is worse? Come on. How do you compare that, to you also promoting casinos, which damage families way, way, way worse?”

I’d say that’s a damn good point. Numbers don’t lie, people. Safety concerns just haven’t materialized and reveues are sky high. Come on, Rahm! Even if you wanted to still put in your casino, is it really going to pull in anywhere close to the same revenue as weed taxes? And what if it did, are you saying that two productive streams of income are not better than one?

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why marijuana has such a strange and all encompassing stigma to it. It seems to be the villian du jour for anyone who wants to push another issue.