Prohibition Repeal: The Answer To Our Economic Crisis?

Uncle Sam, fighting the good fight for all of us.

The current economic crisis can not be denied. It’s in every newspaper, every news broadcast and on everyone’s lips. It’s getting plenty of coverage.

But in this unsure time, when money is short and futures uncertain, one issue that’s not getting so much coverage is America’s “drug war” and it’s costly and continued failure.

In a recent article in the Huffington Post, Norm Stamper, a retired Seattle police officer and member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, argues that America has spent $1 trillion on this fruitless pursuit since 1971.

We’ve arrested tens of millions of Americans for nonviolent drug offenses, most for simple possession of marijuana,” Stamper says. “We’ve damaged or ruined the lives of countless citizens who’ve lost school loans, publicly subsidized housing, and jobs. And yet, drugs are more readily available.

And amid all this, drug use has never waned – especially marijuana use. A 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse showed that 83 million Americans aged 12 or over had tried marijuana at least once. The same study stated that among 10^th graders, 40 percent had tried the drug and nearly 20 percent were current users. And yet the “war” rages on, wasting dollars that could be spent to much better purpose in other areas.

The Last Sport I Would Expect A Pot Scandal From

Everybody's hugging.

Say it ain’t so.

Sumo, the traditional Japanese wrestling sport first practiced as far back as 220 BCE, and marijuana, first smoked in a cross joint in the film Pineapple Express, are now inexplicably intertwined.  In a shameful debacle that has the Sumo-loving public outraged, four wrestlers have been given their pink slips for toking up on the ganja in the last six months alone.

First, Michael Phelps (who has since lost endorsement deals) broke my heart when he decided to tamper with his new-found fame and success by hitting a bong at a party, and now I must somehow cope with the shame that Wakakirin has brought upon his noble sport.

Although Wakakirin was dismissed from the sport (a move many felt was too light-handed), he still has the possibility of collecting severance pay, which should buy a lot of Twinkies.

It has been a rough week for sports, indeed.