Editor's Note: It takes a handful of paragraphs to get to the point, but believe me, there is one. As a New Jersey resident, this hits home. Twenty-two thousand New Jersey residents were arrested for marijuana last year. And as those who have been arrested will tell you, the impacts are not only extremely significant but lifelong. This, while American Presidents, past, current and hopefuls, admit to having smoked marijuana. BTW, if you haven't seen or read about Bill Maher's segment on this, it's definitely worth checking out–which you can do here.Â
If you're a New Jersey resident in support of legalizing marijuana–whether you partake or not–this is a critical time to show your support. Legalization efforts here have just recently gotten a boost (and official kickoff).
I wanted to write about the fact that starting at 2:30 on Saturday afternoon, hundreds of victims of New Jersey’s current criminal marijuana laws will march from the Trenton train station down State Street to the State House, where a large smoky “civil disobedience protest” will begin at 4:20 p.m.
But first I must cringe at President Obama’s recent comments to VICE magazine. VICE is a youth-oriented media outlet that I enjoy even though I’m actually 50 and considered middle-aged now. (I can’t believe I just conceded that I’m middle aged.)
The VICE interviewer told the president–the former leader of the Choom Gang–that marijuana is the subject that online readers most wanted The President to address.
President Obama’s response:Â “It shouldn’t be young people’s biggest priority. Let’s put it in perspective. Young people, I understand this is important to you. But you should be thinking about climate change, the economy, jobs, war, and peace. Maybe way at the bottom you should be thinking about marijuana.”
