To be a leader or a follower

Earlier this year Canada was named the first major economy to legalize marijuana. An article published in the New York Times outlined this historic day in history. Why is this such a big deal? Their government is taking a huge progressive step in trying to release people who have been locked up for nonviolent minor possession charges. Their government is also trying to eliminate the minimum waiting period for a pardon to be approved so that the people who have served time so far can be released. What their government is trying to accomplish and has accomplished so far has been amazing to witness. If the United States could adopt these ideas as a whole that would mean the release of thousands of people who have been locked up for nonviolent minor possession charges over the last decade. The revenue that could be generated for our government could help to provide a more stable economy. In Canada just one of their marijuana producers was valued at over $10 billion. For the United Sates being in debt for as long as we have been this could be a way to start to make some more money stateside. Everyone seems to have their own school of thought on how marijuana should be handled. If it's something that should be done quietly behind closed doors, or if it's something that should be just as socially accepted as drinking alcohol. No matter what one's school of thought is it seems as if it should be brought to light the upside of what could happen if marijuana was legalized. It could be a pivotal turning point in the United States economy and is something that I believe we cannot ignore anymore.

Election Day

The controversial idea that Election Day should be a national holiday was not one I spent much time discussing until this past year. The time spent trying to find a place and exact time that I can vote with my schedule is a hassle to say the least. In a recent blog I read from Yaresi's Government Blog the author argued that Election Day should not be a national holiday because most people would use it as a day of luxury and would not use it for it's intended purpose. The author pointed out that people who aren't even allowed to vote would get a free day off and the increase in traffic that would arise from everyone using this day only to vote. These are some valid points, I do agree that the polling places would be a lot more populated and that not everyone is allowed to vote so they would in turn get a free day off. However I think about all of the people who can't seem to find the time to vote, or even don't have the interest to vote and all of the benefits that would arise by making Election Day a national holiday. People would see it on their calendar every year and it would raise that attention around the upcoming election and more people would be inclined to review the candidates who are on the ballot. I believe the elections themselves would be much more popular and people would want to do the work to feel a part of something that is much bigger than themselves. Making Election Day a national holiday would be a positive move allowing more people the chance to vote that they might not get otherwise, and it would raise the all around attention to what is being discussed in the elections themselves.

A Gateway to a New Beginning

America has taken a new stand over the last couple of years on the issue of whether marijuana should or shouldn't be legal to use for recreational use. It's been a controversial issue and has now been legalized for recreational use in nine states and medical marijuana is now legal in thirty one states. Colorado and Washington were the first two states to legalize marijuana and since then it's become a much more popular topic and is something that I weekly hear discussed about in lectures, the news, and even just daily conversation. Marijuana has been found to be very effective in helping people who deal with chronic pain, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and has even been proven to be a fantastic muscle relaxant. One may argue that marijuana should only be legalized for those who are using it for medicinal purposes only, but I couldn't disagree more. Legalizing marijuana would be able to significantly reduce the harm amongst the people who currently go out of their way to buy and use it illegally and would cut down on the number of people that serve time each year for a possession of the substance. Legalization of the substance could lead to a huge upswing in our economy and could create many jobs for people all over the country. A group in Nevada reports that just in their state it could provide up to 41,000 jobs and bring in about $1.7 billion over the next 10 years. Cleaning up the streets and bringing in money for our economy sound like some great editions for our country. I think it's time that we stop looking at marijuana as the so called "gateway drug" that I have heard it mentioned as for the majority of my life, and start looking at it's legalization as something that can provide many benefits for our country. I would like to see all 50 states adopt this law in the next couple of years so that it's benefits can be used for all and not just those who currently live in the states where it's already legalized. With the passing of this law it would provide every single American of age to be able to use it in any which way they would like to and there could be any number of ways to make sure that there are measures put into place so that it's use is regulated.