Don't Be Fooled, Pot is Dangerous
Even the New York Times is deeply troubled by the problems with our Wild West approach to legalizing pot.
I strongly oppose pot legalization. It should be treated as a vice, officially banned and publicly frowned on, but unofficially tolerated within certain limits. Smoke at home, fine. It’s none of our business. Smoke while driving or in public? No way.
Unfortunately, the trend, and public opinion, favors pot legalization. And not just legalization, but an approach similar to our immigration system in which even the laws that exist are not enforced and treated as quasi-illegitimate. People also want pot use publicly affirmed and even celebrated.
The net results will be negative for our country. For example, the number of children in cities is falling rapidly. There are many things driving this, but the fact that you have to walk through clouds of pot smoke just strolling down the street, even in downtowns and expensive neighborhoods, doesn’t exactly make cities kid friendly places. Who wants his toddler breathing in pot fumes?
It isn’t just people like me that are talking about the downsides of pot. The New York Times has been writing about this as well.
Their latest article on the harms of marijuana use shows that pot is even more dangerous than I had realized - in a host of ways.
The average person has no idea how dangerous pot can be. As the Times put it, “Again and again, The New York Times found dangerous misconceptions.”
Some of what they discuss:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Aaron Renn to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.