Prospect Poll: Cannabis

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Cannabis poll

The Prospect Ganja Poll, at this writing, is running not quite two to one in favor of selling captured cannabis.  The poll will stay open a few more hours, but it is unlikely to change; if it does we’ll do an update.  As is often the case, 45 people visited and only 36 took the poll.  Some people may have tried to take the poll but not hit the “submit” button; others may have come back, some may have decided against taking the poll for whatever reason. 

The first question: Should the Sierra County Board of Supervisors direct staff to research the possibility of selling seized cannabis?

Here are the results: 

Here are the comments:

The comments are always more enlightening than the simple tally, and some comments make very good points.  One is that we don’t resell alcohol taken from minors.  I wonder, though, if the alcohol taken from a minor was a hundred thousand dollar case of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti if it would still be poured down the drain. 

One response indicates a knowledge of the cannabis market: you can’t get top dollar for ganja for which you have no pedigree and can’t assure there is no pesticide residue. 

The second question regarded whether the responder lived, owned property, or worked in the county.  There were some interesting responses:

Does the strong “yes” vote mean the Board should now direct staff to look into the possibility of selling captured cannabis?  This would be true in a democracy, you make the call. 

RESPONSE TO COMMENTS

Two of the comments were directed at SCP’s cannabis policy.

Here they are:

1. Please don't start focusing on marijuana again. Isn't there anything else in life you are concerned with?

2. What is it with the Prospects over zealous desire to have dope readily available for everyone? Smoke your dope quietly and be quiet about it!

They’re good questions, and they deserve honest answers.

First, we care about many things as much or more than cannabis.  For example, in the last month we’ve written about likely changes to our county as a result of the “recession”, we’ve written about the school system and possible responses to lost funding.  We wrote about Keystone XL, about increasing poverty, and the threat to our local post offices.  The Prospect featured information on local events and provided advertising, usually for free, to County Health, to local events, and government items of concern to the public.   In the past, when the issues were timely as cannabis is right now, we have focused on LGBT issues, supported firearm ownership, and property rights.  Many things are important to us.

Cannabis itself isn’t actually the issue.  It’s possible to understand the cannabis issue and the firearms ownership issue and the same sex marriage issue and property rights as one single issue: liberty.  A free nation doesn’t prohibit something from its people that doesn’t warrant prohibition.  Most of the problems with cannabis arise from its prohibition, not the drug itself.  Further, cannabis is not a moral issue, it’s a civil rights issue.

And that explains why we don’t do whatever we do quietly.  “Quietly” isn’t freedom of speech, and it isn’t speaking truth to power.  “Don’t ask don’t tell”, it turns out, is not liberty at all.

Selling captured cannabis is an issue because it will buy media time during which our representatives can explain how life is in rural counties after Secure Schools and Roads.  It doesn’t seem likely the feds will let the county sell seized ganja, but in the process of warning the county off, they’ll draw attention to our plight.  Besides, who knows, maybe we could turn rotting compost at the landfill into money for county jobs.