Doing something a little different today and turning the blog over to another writer.
This past week, former Gov. Frank Murkowski stuck his nose into Alaska politics once again to tell us all how awful legalizing marijuana would be for the rest of us. Many of us thought Murkowski was out of touch even when he was still active in politics. Since he was tossed out like yesterday's cantaloupe rinds by Sarah Palin of all people, he occasionally ventures into the public debate to illustrate to us how far out of touch he is. And, how out of touch is that? He says we have no need to rush into legalizing pot. Hey man, pot has been at least partially legal in Alaska since the mid 1970s. If we went any slower we'd be going backward. This week he chose to warn Alaska about the effects of "big marijuana"as if there is some huge industry out there like "big oil" or "big agriculture" threatening our very existence. Well the father of my brand new grandson has taken the former guv to school about the issue and here is his essay on the subject.
Get your facts straight, Frank
By DAVID PHIFER
After reading Senator
Murkowski’s opinion piece on Ballot Measure 2 I was struck by the lack of
understanding of many of the issues involved. His misconceptions are summarized most eloquently in his
second paragraph: “It reminds me of the herd mentality of the
lemmings stampeding off the cliff with little thought to the consequences.”[1]
That is
a good line – except it is lie.
The lemmings jumping off a cliff was staged by photographers looking for
a good story with no regard for the truth. The State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game has this to
say about the incident, “The epic
"lemming migration" was staged using careful editing, tight camera
angles and a few dozen lemmings running on [a] snow covered lazy-Susan style
turntable.” [2]
This type of lie, the one
that sounds good, endures while the truth struggles on. Senator Murkowski asks us about the
impact on our children. Rather
than look into the truth he is appealing to our feelings and what we think the
answer will be. The truth of the
matter is that teen cannabis use in Colorado has dropped since it has been
legalized[3]. Ballot Measure 2 does not legalize
cannabis use for children but for adults 21 years and older who can decide for
themselves how to live their lives.
Drug dealers do not check IDs but licensed and regulated stores do.
Senator Murkowski uses scare
words like “Outside money” when he disagrees with the issue however he was not
decrying this same “Outside money” when he accepted political donations from
Chevron, Pinnacle West Capital, BP, and others[4]. When multi-billion dollar companies
wanted to support him he accepted their help with open arms. However when two non-profit
organizations are working for the people of Alaska he suddenly has a change of
heart about “Outside money."
As a life-long politician I
can’t help but feel he thinks Alaskans are lost without
people like him telling them what to do.
Senator Murkowski used to be for a small government
that didn’t interfere in the lives of its citizens. Now he is telling Alaskans that they are helpless without
government stepping in and telling them what do to with their lives. US citizens should be seeking more
freedoms rather than submitting to the authoritarian will of an ever-expanding
government.
Senator Murkowski is ignoring
the US’s own history of failure in the prohibition of alcohol. Prohibition enriched ruthless criminals
such as Al Capone and did nothing to stem the flow of alcohol while making
otherwise innocent citizens into criminals. Instead of being taxed and regulated bootleggers were
violently fighting for territory. Consumers
were forced into dealing with criminals and buying a product which was often
poisonous due to the lack of oversight.
The US-Mexico border is rife with cartel violence and as much as 60% of
cartel income comes from cannabis.[5] Mark Twain once said “History doesn’t
repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”
The Senator believes in
pushing half-truths on Alaskans and hopes that we’ll run off a cliff and vote “No”
without evaluating the truth. I
believe Alaskans are not so easily goaded. A regulated cannabis market will create local jobs, tax
revenue, increase our personal freedom, reduce the amount of money going to
criminals, and will help move cannabis out of the hands of youth by putting it into
the hands of licensed local business owners.
[1] http://www.adn.com/article/20141005/frank-murkowski-alaskans-should-just-say-no-big-marijuana
[2] http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=56
[4] http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00008006&type=I
[5] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/06/AR2009100603847.html
Alaska Supreme Court decision legalizing personal use marijuana defines Alaskans
Alaska Supreme Court decision legalizing personal use marijuana defines Alaskans
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