By Bill Spadea
This post originally appeared at NJ 101.5
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I think that the question of legalizing pot is a no brainer. Well, let’s qualify that. Pot should be decriminalized. If someone is smoking a joint in their home, back yard, front porch, who cares? If you want to grow a plant of three for your own use, whether it’s unwinding after a tough day or for pain management, who cares? The problem is that the government cares. So much so that they want to see our state constitution changed so they can set up yet another bureaucracy and increase your taxes.
Although I think that informed adults should be able to make their own decisions about whether to use marijuana, things go awry when government gets involved. Look how they screwed up medical pot – difficult access, high prices and virtually zero change in the illicit market. Same thing will happen here if question #1 on the ballot passes. Years of Trenton wrangling over a substance that current users will simplly continue to use through whatever means they have to get it now. Sadly, this bill empowers politicians and bureaucrats and will lead to higher taxes and increased spending.
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Read More: Should pot be legal in NJ? Yes, but vote NO on ballot question #1
