Editor’s note: This commentary is by J. Paul Sokal, of Panton, a retired businessman, who with his wife operated Addison Gardens, a wholesale perennial plant nursery for many years.
[I]t is perfectly normal for humans to adjust their mood and perception. This is true throughout human history. From a morning coffee to an after-work cocktail to a few puffs of marijuana, these only differ in that sense by degree.
Some small proportion of users of any of these natural substances will have problems with their use. This too is normal. Most people who use alcohol or marijuana or caffeine do so responsibly and with no ill effects. There is scant evidence that marijuana users experience any problems that rise to the level of problems with alcohol or opiates.
Vermont has decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana and some argue that there is no need to legalize its use. This ignores the fact that the transactions to procure marijuana remain illegal and may put persons wishing to use marijuana in contact with seriously criminal individuals. There is another consideration arguing that legalization will disrupt criminal enterprise’s stream of funding, but I will not go into that here.
Some consider their neighbor’s struggle with alcohol and drug use a personal problem and not worthy of public spending. This point of view is puritanical, lacking in compassion and does nothing to remedy the situation.
Vermont, similar to all states, has citizens who experience ill effects from the use of mood altering substances. Whether alcoholism, tobacco or opiate addiction, these are social problems that demand medical solutions.
There is no evidence that legislation making these substances illegal has had any salutary effect. In fact, there is considerable evidence to the contrary.
Vermonters with problems regarding their drug and alcohol use are presently unable to receive medical treatment because of a lack of facilities and services. Our state has lacked these facilities for decades.
Vermont espouses a caring intent for all its citizens but struggles to provide the resources to solve these problems. Some consider their neighbor’s struggle with alcohol and drug use a personal problem and not worthy of public spending. This point of view is puritanical, lacking in compassion and does nothing to remedy the situation. These problems will not just go away and we cannot imprison and punish our way out of this problem. Nearly 60 years of the war on drugs has only made the situation worse.
Legalize marijuana, tax its use, and devote all of the proceeds to medical care. Ensure that any Vermonter who has a problem with substance abuse also has access to state of the art, high quality medical services to deal with their problem. Some of the tax proceeds should fund scientific, research-based education dealing with these issues. Any remaining tax proceeds should fund Vermont’s Medicaid liabilities.
