We do imply that it’s a safe drug — in fact we downright assert it to be such — and that’s because it is. But like pretty much anything, cannabis has its downfalls. For example, a recent study indicates that smoking cannabis may put you at greater risk of gum disease.
The real reason Representative Rehm feels qualified to discuss marijuana safety is largely because it has been vilified and criminalized for so long. Because the truth is, numerous other legal substances remain legal without controversy, despite well-known associated risks. Should we criminalize cigarettes? Alcohol? Motorcycles? Guns? Parasailing? Hot air ballooning? Driving? Biking? Football? Boxing? Parachuting? Ice Cream? Diet Coke? Bacon? Should we mandate that everyone exercise for at least 30 minutes a day? What about flossing?
Who really wants a nanny state that tells us pretty much all that we can and cannot do? I know we go to the Abraham Lincoln well too often, but there is a reason for that, and as he so eloquently put it: “Prohibition… goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” Or to quote presidential candidate Jill Stein, the only thing dangerous about marijuana is its prohibition.
So Representative Rehm, go ahead and believe whatever you want about the safety or the dangerousness of cannabis. And go ahead and never consume it yourself, and please know that we would be the first to defend your right not to do so. But stay out of our house and our lives because we know better what is right for ourselves than you do.
