Anyone who follows politics knows that candidates on the campaign trail will say just about anything to make a connection with voters. It has always been that way. Candidates like to talk about the hot topics of the day in ways that will win favor. Take Democrat presidential candidate Dean Phillips. The Minnesota Representative recently issued an interesting pot challenge to his main rival.
Phillips was addressing a crowd at a New Hampshire town hall event when he brought up President Biden’s ongoing opposition to legalizing recreational marijuana consumption nationwide. Whether it was the heat of the moment or something Phillips genuinely believes, he told the assembled crowd that he thinks Biden should go ahead and smoke marijuana.
Washington’s Hypocritical Stance
Phillip’s challenge appears to have been an attempt to highlight Washington’s hypocritical stance when it comes to both marijuana and alcohol. I say that because the lawmaker went on to point out how White House workers are free to use alcohol recreationally without fear of losing their jobs – just as long as they don’t come to work drunk. The same is not true with cannabis.
Federal law still considers cannabis illegal. Therefore, White House employees are not allowed to use it even for medical purposes. Being identified as a cannabis user could lead to disciplinary action up to, and including, losing one’s job.
As far as Phillips is concerned, Biden smoking pot would show him just how hypocritical his opposition to marijuana is. Perhaps that would cause the president to change his mind. Whether or not it would, let me propose another way of looking at it.
Let’s Rethink Our Stance on Alcohol
I agree that our nation is hypocritical when it comes to alcohol and marijuana. But whenever such hypocrisy is brought up, the implication is that we ought to treat marijuana the same way we treat booze. Why not go the other way? Rather than opening the floodgates to marijuana consumption nationwide, why not consider ways to encourage people to stop drinking so much?
If you can answer that question, you can also explain why nearly two dozen states have opened the door to recreational marijuana consumption. Regardless of your personal feelings about marijuana, you have to admit that recreational marijuana and alcohol have one thing in common: people use them because they want to feel intoxicated.
To me, that is the most troubling aspect to the whole cannabis debate. I get medical cannabis as a treatment for conditions like chronic pain and PTSD. Likewise, I fully support using alcohol for medicinal purposes. But when the point of either one is to simply get intoxicated, I’m not on board.
Recreational Legalization Is Inevitable
As things currently stand, there are a small handful of states that do not allow cannabis of any kind. Other states, like Utah for example, only allow medical cannabis consumption. According to Salt Lake City’s Beehive Farmacy, Utah has even gone so far as to tightly restrict the number of cannabis pharmacies allowed in the state. But make no mistake about it. The cannabis landscape is in for a major overhaul.
Nationwide recreational legalization is inevitable. It is only a matter of time. Dean Phillips may never convince Joe Biden to toke, but Biden’s approval will ultimately prove unnecessary. Nationwide legalization will gradually become a reality as one state after the next approves recreational pot. And once all 50 states are on board, federal approval is but a formality.
Will Joe Biden take up the pot smoking challenge? I highly doubt it. It sure would be entertaining to watch though.
