Know the Facts - Change the Law

Know the Facts - Change the Law
Life - Liberty - Pursuit of Happiness

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Price of snow removal breaks state's budget - Ganja Prohibition breaks my heart

free website counters
I have a pretty good idea where the state can come up with about $10.5 million. That’s a conservative estimate of how much Delaware throws away persecuting ganja consumers every year.
Am I the only one puzzled by the state breaking the bank over a simple snow removal project, while at the same time the state is tossing human dignity, respect for the law, and tens of millions of dollars away on arresting a tiny fraction of Delaware’s ganja consumers?

Imagine, for a second, applying the rationale of ganja prohibition mentality to the snow removal budget. Let’s have the state clean up only one hundredth of one percent of the snow, while spending over $10 million. The difference is that ganja consumers are persecuted for making a personal choice that affects no one but themselves, while this last snowfall brought a huge chunk of the East Coast to a slushy halt, affecting businesses, schools, and the government itself. The difference is, the snow is dangerous, while ganja consumers are not.  Another difference is that another huge wave of ganja consumers will be here again next week, next month, next year.

The reality is that while the state can effectively provide snow removal service, there will never be enough money in the budget to arrest enough ganja consumers for the laws to be meaningful, let alone effective. The prohibitionist war on ganja consumers is already lost. All they’ve become at this point is an albatross hanging from society’s neck, destroying more lives that it purports to save while creating irrational costs to society and the individuals caught up in the abattoir of the so-called justice system.

The state has $3.2 million in its snow removal account. But it costs between $3.5 million and $4 million for every 8 inches of snow that falls, Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Carolann Wicks said.
"So if we go over, we have to find the money and do less of something else," Wicks said.
Price of snow removal breaks state's budget | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

No comments:

Post a Comment

FUN Stuff!