Marriage Equality & Legal Cannabis: Will the U.S. Make It Work?

The old saying goes “everything changes, nothing changes,” and in some ways the last few years in the United States have proved that human nature is strange but ultimately predictable. In a nation where each state can decide what it wants to do on a wide range of issues, we continue to see different areas of the country divided on a majority of what are dubbed “social issues.”

In a country where one state is okay with one thing but just a few miles away the rules are totally different, how can the country truly function?

Today’s social issues include marriage equality and (of course) cannabis legalization, among others. Basically, legislative issues that only really affect the people whose lifestyles call for relaxation of outdated policies. Many will argue that it’s more complicated than that, and perhaps time will tell whether or not Colorado’s decision to allow recreational sale of cannabis is really affecting its neighboring states or harming the children living here.

Some argue that these changes will affect children because it somehow degrades morals and that marriage equality will somehow destroy “traditional” families. But at this point in human history its hard to hear that argument and not think that whoever is making it is blinded by ignorance that prevents them from thinking straight.

How is marriage equality going to ruin our society, when we have an internet full of awful nonsense, and a laundry list of other things that are far worse than two humans in love getting to have shared health care?

Cannabis that is legally available in a regulated market might get to children easier, but will it get there any quicker than alcohol (or when sold on the totally unregulated black market)? Much was discussed about how Amendment 64 here in Colorado was going to regulate the cultivation and sale of cannabis like alcohol, and even more discussed about how the statistic of destruction for both are so wildly different. For those that may not know what that refers to, here’s a statistic: three people are killed in alcohol-related highway crashes every two hours.

But how many are killed in any kind of cannabis-related incident (whether it’s in a state that allows recreational pot or not)? Certainly far less, but the stigma remains and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. For every step that advocates of sensible cannabis policy take forward, there are legions of ridiculous arguments that aim to throw them backwards.

So as the Supreme Court of the United States takes up the marriage equality issue soon and more and more states around the country move toward sensible cannabis legislation, here’s to hoping that we will slowly lose the loud chorus of voices screaming utter nonsense and that sane opinions will prevail.