Republican Moms for Marijuana

(ColoradoDaily.com) BOULDER, Colo. — As a Republican mother committed to legalizing marijuana, political life can be lonely. But while many in my party whisper about the Drug War’s insanity, we should shout it from the rooftop: the time to legalize is now.

If history is any guide, the crucial female voting bloc, including many Republicans, will provide the political will essential to making this happen.

In 1929, it was the Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform successfully leading the charge to end America’s decade-long experiment with alcohol prohibition. While many of these same activists fought just years earlier to forbid booze, they quickly witnessed prohibition’s devastating consequences, including increased violence.

Just four years into the Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform’s repeal efforts, prohibition was over.

Courageous conservatives across the country, including Texas Congressman Ron Paul, former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo and former New Mexico Gov. [Gary] Johnson, have all said yes to legalization.

If we believe that smaller government is better government, we must trust people to choose what to put into their bodies. If we support legalized access to alcohol, cigarettes, and 700-calorie cheeseburgers, we should legalize marijuana — a far less harmful substance.

Thank you for the point about 700-calorie cheeseburgers!  I can show you far more harm caused to society from fast food than from marijuana.  Just starting with the sheer resources it takes to raise a pound of beef in this country, as my left-wing eco-vegan friends here in Portland never stop reminding me, through the massive underground illegal labor market that keeps it running from slaughterhouse to drive-thru, as my right-wing border-security family back in Boise keep bringing up, fast food costs us more in health care costs, disability, and global climate change than all illegal drugs combined, and certainly more than an eco-friendly domestic crop like marijuana.

That said, I will defend your right to an In-N-Out Double Double with my last dying breath, just as I’ll defend your right to smoke the ickiest of the stickiest.  We could – and should – change a lot about how both cheeseburgers and Cheese buds get to your mouth, but we should never arrest you for putting them in there.