We Changed Our Minds!

Yes folks, the rumors are true:

After careful consideration, we realized that all this time we should have been saying “Vote YES on Question 3!”

Why the sudden change of heart? Well, after listening to what some of the real experts have to say - not the stale old myths that we’ve believed until now – we realized that there is no real logical reason to vote “no” on Question 3 this November.

Here are things we’ve said in our campaign against Question 3, let’s call them our top 3 mistakes:

“Medical marijuana needs tighter restriction and physician oversight.”

Oops, our bad. We didn’t realize that that is EXACTLY what the passage of Question 3 will do: Provide tighter restriction and physician oversight to the medical marijuana program.  Right now, medical marijuana is completely unregulated in Massachusetts. If we pass Question 3, the Department of Health will oversee the medical marijuana program, and only patients with recommendations from their doctors will be able to get it!

So what we should have said was “if you’re against marijuana, you should vote YES on Question 3 to help impose tighter restrictions and physician oversight.“ Oh yeah, one other thing: Remember a few years ago, that whole decriminalization thing that passed here? About that… Anyone caught abusing the medical marijuana program in Massachusetts can actually be charged with a crime if Question 3 passes. Talk about a responsible law!

“What we do know for sure is that smoking marijuana profoundly harms youth.”

Here’s another “oops, our bad” argument we’ve been using against Question 3, when in fact it’s a good reason to vote “Yes” on Question 3.  See, there’s no real scientific evidence either way – because marijuana is federally illegal, no studies can actually be done.

But according to Harvard University’s Dr. Lester Grinspoon, MD, we do know that “there is no credible scientific basis for the justification of the prohibition.  The assertion that it is a very toxic drug is based on old and new myths.”

But better safe than sorry: We should really focus on keeping marijuana out of the hands of kids, just like we already do with alcohol and tobacco. Right now, there is no age restriction on marijuana because it is prohibited and unregulated. If we regulate marijuana, medical or otherwise, we can impose tight restrictions on marijuana to keep it out of kids’ hands, and away from our schools.

“Medical marijuana is nothing more than a ruse for a vocal minority who want pot shops to be as prevalent in our communities as convenience stores.”

This is our biggest “oops, our bad” yet. Especially calling the pro-marijuana folks a “vocal minority”. It seems like we didn’t check the latest polls, which show over 60% of voters in favor of medical marijuana.

The folks over at MassCann/NORML billed this year’s Boston Freedom Rally as “Decrim 2008 – Medical 2012 – Legal 2016″, and at first we thought that was bad, bad news. At first, we were pretty certain that medical marijuana was just a ruse to get marijuana legalized in Massachusetts. But is that really such a bad idea?

Four years ago, when over 65% of voters said “yes” to Question 2,  the decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana in Massachusetts, we were all but certain that the world was going to end. But the reality is, we’ve freed up police resources, lightened the burden on the courts, and even made a little extra money from the marijuana possession citations that have been issued. But the sky hasn’t fallen, people aren’t smoking pot in the workplace, schools or city hall, and there hasn’t been an increase of DUI fatalities from people smoking marijuana and getting behind the wheel. Twinkie sales, however, seem to be on the rise.

So, let’s try this “medical marijuana” experiment here in Massachusetts. Let’s see how well the state can regulate it, with Department of Health oversight and physician recommendations. If the sky still doesn’t fall, if society in Massachusetts is still standing in 2016, then maybe, just maybe, we can consider legalization of marijuana.

What’s the worst that can happen? We put people to work, create a new industry, generate additional tax revenue for our cities and towns, and keep marijuana out of the hands of kids under 21 years old – just like we do with alcohol.