Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

"#HOLLYWEED" isn't the only sign that Marijuana will be legalized in 2017, and not just in California

Donald Trump Will Leave Marijuana Laws To The States, Effectively Legalizing Cannabis.

As American's awoke to the 2017 Rose Parade in Pasadena and the "HOLLYWEED" sign decorating the Hollywood Hills, it was apparent to all that 2017 is the year Marijuana will be legalized. The President Elect, a self proclaimed bringer of change, has pretty much said so. Here's a list of ten reasons Donald Trump will legalize marijuana:

1. It's what he said he would do. "President-elect Donald Trump has publicly supported medicinal legalization of cannabis products and indicated support for states' rights to set their own rules on adult use," says CNBC. Trump told FoxNews' "The O'Reilly Factor" in February, "Medical marijuana, medical? I'm in favor of it a hundred percent."

2. Trump campaigned on a platform of State's Rights. The 10th Amendment to the US Constitution says that all powers not specifically reserved to the Federal Government, go to the States by default. The 22 states that still restrict medical and recreational use of cannabis, can continue to do so, while the Federal government walks away from it's ban.

3. His kids run the show, and they're pretty much all weed smokers. Just look at Donald Jr., Eric, Ivanka and especially, Tiffany. Seriously, which of them didn't experiment with drugs in college? Ivanka has already come out publicly as pro legalization. She is an Orthodox Jew, and Orthodox Jews regard marijuana as Kosher for Passover.

4. Donald Trump is, above all else, a businessman. Marijuana is big business, and since government money comes from business taxes, he will want a chance to tax weed sales.

5. Marijuana has become as American as baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet. Voters in Florida, Arkansas, Montana and North Dakota approved ballot initiatives allowing or expanding access to medical marijuana for cancer and glaucoma. And voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada approved recreational use. That brings the total to 28 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized some form of marijuana use.

6. In November, California voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, instantly becoming the largest market for pot-based products in the country. Trump wants to get re-elected in 2020. He could win the State with the greatest number of electoral votes, simply by legalizing pot.

7. Yes, I know Trump appointed Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, and that the dude is a 1950's thinker on law enforcement. Sessions has specifically said, since his appointment, that weed "is not the sort of thing that should be legal." But Sessions works for Trump, and similarly wants to keep his job. He'll come around.

8. As a politician, Trump isn't really a Republican, he's a populist. Pew Research finds 57 percent of U.S. adults believe marijuana should be legal, while just 37 percent say it should be illegal, a reversal of opinions held a decade ago. Support for medicinal marijuana is widespread, at 89 percent nationally, according to Quinnipiac University polling. In other words, cannabis legalization is more popular than both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were on Election Day.

9. Legalizing pot would save law enforcement money. Together with the aforementioned additional tax revenue, it could fund Trump's trillion dollar infrastructure plan.

10. Donald Trump loves defying conventional wisdom. This quote is from a Politico.com article about the need to confront Russia. Though the article doesn't mention marijuana, the same logic applies:

President-elect Trump has characteristics that can aid him in defining what comes next. He is, first and foremost, a rule-breaker, not quantifiable by metrics we know. In a time of inconceivable change, that can be an incredible asset. He comes across as a straight talker, and he can be blunt with the American people about the threats we face. He is a man of many narratives, and can find a way to sell these decisions to the American people. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/putins-real-long-game-214589

About that Hollywood sign: LAPD said that an unknown perpetrator climbed up the sign and used a tarp to create an effect turning both 'O's in the sign to 'E's. He added that the incident was being investigated as an act of trespassing.

For over 100 years, the Hollywood sign has been both a tourist attraction in LA's Hollywood Hills. Paris has the Eiffel Tower, and LA has the Hollywood sign.

The Hollywood" sign has been a prime target of mischief-makers over the years. It was once defaced in 1976 for a similar purpose. According to History.com, a group of students at that time also used tarp to turn the 'Os' into 'Es', in order to celebrate a new law that decriminalized possession of small amounts of weed.

 
 

Reader Comments(2)

WhatWhat writes:

Hey, if Stan Greene from the Santa Monica Observer said it, then it MUST be the truth. Complete rag.

Think writes:

He needs to deschedule or reschedule to schedule 1 in order for us who get drug tested to live free.