By Roger Mitchell, Stevensville
Whether you like him or hate him, Donald Trump can do something which a large majority of Americans would support–order that the Federal Government decriminalize the sale, purchase, and use of marijuana.
It is past time for the US to come to grips with the pot issue. Worldwide, trends are moving in the direction of decriminalization. Uruguay and Canada have already done so. Mexico will soon join them. Individual states are moving to make pot legal in one form or another. The Feds are on the losing side.
Polls show that Americans, by and large, wish to see the Feds so-called “war on marijuana” end. Sooner or later this will happen. Inevitably, a large amount of the national economy will be removed from the black market and brought out into the open where it can be participated in legally. In addition, many people, non-violent offenders, who are presently incarcerated for the sale or possession of pot could be set free to rejoin society, enabling them to become productive citizens and slashing the immense cost to taxpayers to keep them behind bars.
The movement to change government policy on marijuana has become crystal clear—it will be modified in favor of more personal freedom. President Trump can go down in history by giving this issue a huge push in the right direction—declare that the US will make marijuana free and legal. Washington has lost this war. Now is the time to admit it openly.