Growing up in Virginia where you would go to Jail, not get a ticket or a fine but go to Jail for so much as having a bowl, I never thought that I would ever get to type those words. But alas, its happening, at least in the state of Washington where I’m lucky enough to live.

Somehow the people of this fine state, my adopted home, decided that we had had enough of the bullshit and after 75 long years of pointlessly imprisoning literally hundreds of thousands of non violent citizens, we ended the prohibition of Marijuana. So did Colorado, congratulations to them as well.

“But its still against Federal Law” you say? Yeah, no shit, I’m a convicted felon due to this fact since I got busted with an 1/8 of an ounce of grass in Yellowstone. In fact, that sums up my criminal record believe it or not. I’ve been arrested twice for possession of small amounts and I would count what happened in Nebraska but the state trooper just gave me a ticket and thanked me for my cooperation.

The point is always been a matter of common sense. Even if you don’t smoke, you know plenty of people that do most likely and you know that it’s probably the least harmful of any “drug” there is. You cant become addicted, you can’t overdose, it doesn’t make people violent. It makes boring people seem fun and shitty music sound better. Ever try listening to Jazz sober?

I’m not saying everyone should smoke it ether. I’m saying that people should have a right to make there own choices about how they live. Take Prostitution for example. Politically, do I think it should be taxed and regulated? Yes, of course I do. But morally, could I ever pay for sex? For some reason the answer is no. But I have no problem if you want to. Just because you personally don’t participate in something doesn’t mean that others shouldn’t have the freedom to make there own choice.

The irony with Marijuana being legalized out here is that not much is really going to change, at least in the city of Seattle. This has always been a very friendly city and I’ve never known anyone to get fucked with because of weed, most of the time it’s cause they were black. I’m not saying that to be funny, I’m saying because its true. Just like a small minority of people who smoke grass are lazy tie dyed hippies, a small number of police tend to be very focused on making the rest of the department look bad and these are the people who you here about in the media.

Are there going to be pot stores all over the place? People getting stoned and walking around naked having unprotected sex out of wedlock? Is there going to be civil unrest and rioting in the streets? No, not at all. All that’s happening is that people can finally smoke a bowl and relax knowing that they won’t go to jail anymore.

“But what about the Feds??” Guess what, Obama just got elected for his second term and he was a stoner. Yes, things might have to go to court and the states of Washington and Colorado might have to fight but as of right now, the Feds are being cool about things. The biggest issue that we face right now is making sure that we set up the new system the right way which presents a challenge since there is no other model for this anywhere, and most of the people that know about weed really don’t trust the Government. People are going to get greedy and stupid and it’s going to take some time to work out the kinks but the biggest hurdle has been over come.

For the first time, for something that matters to me at least, Democracy worked. The choice was given to the people and the people united, spoke and changed things for the better. But its not over yet. As much as I want to celebrate, I’m reminded of the people that are sitting in prison right now for pot. This isn’t a joke, I’m talking about real people who had lives and jobs and families and a future who are now locked away with real criminals because they got stoned.

Lets take this national, then we can party. I’ll bring the brownies…

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