When it comes to the law, everyone has a pet peeve. I expected as much, seeing as I do that America has just too damn many laws, with many failing to serve the many and others being just plain stupid. There were some good ideas put forth, and some good debate on at least one proposed change. There was no debate over changing marijuana laws. Of course, these are what one might call "small - sample statistics"!

The prohibition of marijuana seems to persist under the power of inertia alone. It simply remains an unpopular subject in government despite the noticable lack of credible evidence against it. While seeking suitable photos for this entry,I came across a very damning study, showing how marijuana changes the blood flow in the brain. It cited statistics for "moderate users" (70 joints/week) and "heavy users" (350 joints +/week). Seventy joints a week is MODERATE? For who, Tommy Chong??????? And if someone is smoking 350 joints/week, which is 50/day, I can only guess that their weed really sucks. Are you sure you're not smoking oregano???? This reminds me of the famous study that proved that marijuana is lethal, as it killed a lab monkey that smoked it. The monkey, it seems, perished after being forced to smoke over 50 joints in one hour. All they proved is that monkeys need oxygen as well.

Despite, or actually because of, these silly studies, one out of 136 Americans is currently behind bars. No, they didn't all get busted with pot. The unforgiving and ineffective drugs laws in America have merely insured that on top of all the killers, thieves, rapists, molesters, and embezzlers that deserve some time in the stripey hole we have a lot of ordinary people who chose to get high. These numbers would be worse if we didn't have a escape valve; the guy that raped your kid can be paroled to make room for the unparolable guy that had two sheets of acid. So don't worry, America. You're safe from him. Just keep the kids inside.

The other ideas were things like abolishing the death penalty, repealing the Patriot Act, repealing the "Torture Law", repealing laws restricting consensual sex between adults, repealing seatbelt/helmet laws, and repealing laws en masse as a prerequisite to making new ones. Only one person had a suggestion that entailed further restriction. Thus, I think that on the whole, the reaction can be summed up in one statement from the people to Washington, DC: "Stop telling us what's good for us, and with the extra time that you gain from that, start doing something good for us. Shit fer brains!"

I'd like to see a referendum on THAT.


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