Even if marijuana is ultimately legalized in NYC, it is not going to be in a hurry. Changes take a long time and laws have to pass through many hands and committees. In order to speed up the process, demonstrators running into hundreds held a rally on Saturday to get their voices heard. The event is not new either as Troy Smith says. Since 2012, the event seeks to find the medicine for sufferers and stop fighting drugs. Rather, let prisoners run free and nations be united.
Besides more than half of the fifty American states legalizing medical cannabis, Washington, Colorado and Alaska have approved recreational dope and Oregon joined them later.
A retired police officer said he felt bitter because too many people have suffered because of marijuana. Others stated that it should be a personal right to consume cannabis if you wished to. Another believes that marijuana should be sold like vegetables in the shops. It is a plant anyway.
A park visitor considered such legalization a bad idea, believing that the culture would suffer. Many would feel the same way and it reflects the strong bias against the weed that has existed for decades.
Meanwhile, some action is going on that may clear the way towards legal dope in NYC. Two Democrats who represent Manhattan and Buffalo proposed a 2013 bill that seeks to regulate marijuana in the state. A committee would study its merits, but nothing is expected this year. Potential sufferers and recreational dope aspirants have a long waiting period ahead. In any case, they have waited far too long already and thus the angry voices.
In the absence of legalization, it is only natural that crime flourishes along with all the guilt and fear. Patients who suffer badly with fainting fits, for instance, will need to find relief from marijuana just like those in the throes of severe pain. Several other problems like insomnia are said to be managed better with marijuana and pharmacies are busy compiling medicines to be marketed soon.
Federal authorities still consider cannabis a Schedule 1 drug but that hardly makes sense any longer.
• Many types of research indicate that marijuana is not a gateway to hard drugs.
• It does not incite violence or result in addiction.
• Four American states have already received the green signal for recreational dope, subject to conditions.
• Several countries like the Netherlands and Portugal have promoted cannabis tourism with few restrictions.
