But We Bet Trump Will Squash It

If we had to make a bet, it is our view that the new administration of Donald Trump and his reactionary Attorney General nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, will move almost immediately to squash the legalization of marijuana in those states that have done so.

They officially will give as reasons that federal law must prevail over state law (marijuana still is deemed a Schedule 1 drug by the feds, the same as heroin, believe it or not); that there is unwanted and unwelcome spillover into adjacent states from those states where marijuana is legal; and that marijuana has not been studied enough to determine the long-term health effects on the population.

But the real reasons will be as follows: Those states where voters have legalized marijuana and that are, (and soon will be) earning tax income from marijuana sales, are almost entirely Blue states.

Further, the criminalization of drugs in this country is what keeps the private prison systems full in the Red states, creating huge profits for the companies that operate them.

Finally, since almost all of the drug-related felony arrests in Red states are individuals who are minorities, those who are convicted can be stripped of their right to vote — thereby depressing minority voter-turnout that would otherwise vote Blue.

That’s our view — and we’ll all just have to wait and see what happens after January 23.