NORML: Keith Stroup- '40 Years of Ignorance: Conclusion'

Source:NORML- founder and legal counsel Keith Stroup.

"The conclusion of "40 Years of Ignorance" featuring NORML Founder and Legal Counsel, Keith Stroup discussing the 40th anniversary of the Shafer Commission and its implications for the marijuana movement and NORML iteslf." 

From NORML

This is just a theory, but I believe a big reason why supporters of marijuana legalization with regulation and taxation supporters (and I'm one of them) are winning the political battles now and why there's a good shot that marijuana will be legalized in at least two states this year, has to do with the economy. 

When the economy is slow and there's a lot of high unemployment, like now, people who are taxpayers pay more attention to where their tax dollars are going. I believe we now have a lot of taxpayers who see so much of their hard-earned, tax dollars going to prisons, instead of infrastructure, education, tax relief, and are wondering why that is. 

The War On Drugs is a major reason for that country where we might have 3-10, 4-10 Americans who are currently in jail or prison today because of some involvement in illegal narcotics, including marijuana, which is no more dangerous for people than alcohol. 

Me personally, I'm in favor of marijuana legalization with regulation and taxation, because I don't believe the government should be locking people up for what they do to themselves. Only when people hurt innocent people, but not because they get high or drunk. And I sure as hell don't want my tax dollars to go to more jails and prisons, because we're arresting more free adults for marijuana possession or personal usage. But that's me on ideological grounds. 

For most American taxpayers, I think they're more practical and the people who now support marijuana legalization, are thinking the War On Drugs is now a bad taxpayer investment.