The End of Prohibition

We are on the brink of momentous change. We are seeing the end of prohibition.

Yesterday, the states of Colorado and Washington fully legalized marijuana, Massachusetts said “Yes” to a state wide medical marijuana act, California repealed the country’s toughest Three Strikes law, and all fiveMichigan cities easily passed their marijuana initiatives. In Ypsilanti, when asked if police should just leave folks with up to an ounce of marijuana alone, 80% of the voters agreed.

When given the opportunity, voters overwhelmingly say No More Drug War. The reality that our $69 billion a year “War on Drugs,” has worsened societal problems instead of alleviating them has gone mainstream.

We’ve heard from our government over the past few weeks that they don’t really agree with us about ending this war. They will challenge our actions, deny theirs, and in any way possible, deter our work.

What are they going to to do to us? Take our kids? Humiliate us? Take our property? Put us in jail?

Despite the systematic, relentless denial of our government, the people of our country are tired of war. We are witness to an amazing thing: citizen generated, social justice policy change on a fantastical scale. Now we need legislators to recognize this. We will have to trick them out of their holes, dangle democracy in front of them and see how many bite. See how many of them will respect the will of the people.

They’re already working as hard as they can to stop this massive shift in consciousness, but this force is unstoppable, precisely because of the cost of this failed policy. Lives ruined, resources wasted. You’re already killing us, tearing us from our families.

We have to continue to be water, dripping slowly on that stone. Good thing we have extraordinary, relentless leadership.

Researcher and Author Jeffry Dhywood has created a petition to compel the President to respect the will of the people in Washington and Colorado.

While we have all reasons to celebrate,” he says on the website, ” the fight is far from over and we must be ready to stand firm for the defense of the newly gained right of the people of Colorado and Washington.”