Interesting perspectives on this one. I agree with much of what the protesters are getting at, but I also understand the need to play the game. I do think that you can make the same basic case and not look like an idiot though. The current proposal in Texas is doing just that. It’s being submitted by a suit that can play the game, and he’s trying to appeal to his audience’s common sense rather than lecture them about the MJ sins of the past.

http://www.marijuana.com/news/2015/03/how-not-to-advocate-for-legalization

Legislators in Rhode Island believe their state can be the first on the East Coast to tax and regulate marijuana. House and Senate bill sponsors and supporters held a press conference on Thursday to tout the merits of legalization, but it was interrupted by a group of protestors who shouted and waved signs.

But these weren’t anti-marijuana advocates. These rabble-rousers actually love marijuana so much that they aren’t happy about the taxes and regulations that would be placed on their favorite plant under the legislation. And they don’t even want you to call it "marijuana." They much prefer the term "cannabis."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgnf3IXHcqU

The protestors, Anne Armstrong and Alan Gordon, claim that cannabis was prominently mentioned in the bible and that the Marijuana Regulation, Control and Taxation Act is offensive to their religion, even going so far as to call the bill "Satanic."

"’Marihuana’ is a slang term popularized by William Randolph Hearst in his ‘Yellow Journalism’ Reefer Madness-type propaganda," Armstrong said in an email to Marijuana.com.

"To pass laws about ‘cannabis,’ the plant specified in the Bible as essential to the Holy Anointing Oil, as ‘marijuana’ is as offensive to me as would be a law referring to ‘Equal Pay for Bimbos,’" Armstrong said, adding that "bigoted slang intended to demonize has no place in legislation."

In a press release, Gordon said, “The legislature must learn that kaneh-bos is in the Bible, and that Jesus opposed its restricted, double-taxed sale.”

The advocates are threatening to ignore the new law if it is passed, and say they are considering planting "fields of the stuff" in a national park this Passover through Easter.

Gordon, who wore a Rasta-colored bowtie for the occasion, compared using the term "marijuana," which he called "the m-word," to using a derogatory term for African Americans. "Are you gonna call the Voting Rights Act for black people ‘the n-word voting rights protection act?’" he asked.

Armstrong, who ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign for governor last year, generated headlines by smoking marijuana in an online campaign ad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2tIxCXUaL0

While it’s undeniable that Armstrong and Gordon have a love for cannabis, their political savvy leaves a lot to be desired. Even though Rhode Island has the highest marijuana use rate in the nation, legalization legislation is going to have to be approved by lawmakers and a governor who don’t share such enthusiasm for the plant.

By reframing the debate to, in effect, "free the weed," these advocates are distracting from the important reasons many people who don’t consume cannabis have for seriously considering legalization, such as tax revenues than can be used to pay for schools, roads and healthcare. And as long as the conversation about legalization is perceived as "people who love marijuana vs. people who don’t," prohibition is likely to remain in effect, cannabis consumers will keep going to jail and drug cartels and gangs will continue to control the illegal market.

Thankfully, though, while Armstrong and Gordon shout and wave signs, there are much savvier advocates who are working hard and engaging in the real political process it takes to pass laws. Despite the sideshow and semantic bickering, many observers still believe Rhode Island has a very good chance of becoming the first East Coast state to end marijuana prohibition.

Overall, I’m against all of this regulation crap that gets thrown in the MJ equation; but, by giving the thieves some money, we’ll ultimately get what we want. I’m good to go as long as I can grow my own. To me, that is the most important component of any MJ legislation.

:weedspin :weedspin :weedspin