I know there are mixed views on marijuana legalization among our readers — and writers — but I am especially curious about a point Kathleen Parker brings up in her column today. Do moms on the Right want legalization? And are their children a driving motivator? Kathleen writes:
In addition to writing and speaking to end marijuana prohibition, Corry, who does not smoke pot, is trying to organize Republican women around the cause. So far, she has commitments from 20 fellow Coloradoans, most of them lawyers, like Corry. Her husband, also an attorney, represents medical marijuana users.
Corry’s arguments focus not only on the inhumanity of further punishing sick people who seek relief through pot but also on protecting her children should they decide to try marijuana someday. There’s nothing like imagining one’s own children as “criminals” to put irrational laws in perspective.
Corry is hardly alone and, in fact, may be part of a “toking point.” (Is there a drug yet for “Tipping Point Fatigue”?) In its October issue, Marie Claire magazine featured “Stiletto Stoners,” an article about accomplished career women who prefer to relax with pot. A September Fortune cover story, “Is Pot Already Legal?” examined the issue. In April, the 2006 Miss New Jersey, Georgine DiMaria, outed herself as a stealth marijuana user to treat her asthma.
Even if you believe there’s a high chance that your teen will try or use pot, don’t you hope he doesn’t? And aren’t there decent reasons for that? That may not be the final determinant on what your position on legalization is, but it is so . . . right?