Wake up frenz…you’re in a War Right Now!
Let me be crystal clear about something – the War on Drugs isn't some relic from the Nixon era that ended when Colorado and Washington first legalized weed. It's happening right now, as you're reading this. And if you think I'm being paranoid, stick with me for a minute.
I've been documenting the signs of escalation in this war for years, but today I want to address the elephant in the room: this has never been a "War on Drugs." Drugs don't get arrested. Drugs don't lose their jobs. Drugs don't get their kids taken away. Drugs don't have their assets seized or their voting rights stripped.
This has always been a war on people – specifically, on YOU.
Despite cannabis enjoying unprecedented public support (70% of Americans favor legalization), the battlefield has simply shifted. The opponents haven't surrendered; they've just changed tactics. As Paul Armentano brilliantly outlines in his recent MarijuanaMoment.net op-ed, cannabis consumers are being targeted by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, just in different ways.
In this article, we'll dissect Armentano's observations about how politicians from both sides of the aisle are undermining legalization efforts – from Republicans outright nullifying voter initiatives to Democrats taxing legal markets into oblivion. More importantly, we'll explore how we, as cannabis consumers, can start rattling the cages that keep our bodies classified as government property rather than our own sovereign domains.
Time to wake up, frenz. You're still on the battlefield whether you realize it or not.
What Paul Said...
Paul Armentano's recent op-ed for Marijuana Moment reads like a battle report from the frontlines. As NORML's Deputy Director, he's been watching the war unfold from a privileged vantage point, and what he sees should alarm every cannabis consumer in America.
On the Republican side, we're witnessing something particularly insidious – the outright nullification of democracy itself. In South Dakota, GOP lawmakers nearly repealed a voter-approved medical cannabis law by a single vote. Nebraska's Republican attorney general is urging lawmakers to simply ignore election results. In Ohio, Senate Republicans are gutting the voter-approved legalization by limiting home growing, imposing arbitrary THC caps, and – most disturbing – creating new crimes for adults who share cannabis.
But Democrats aren't exactly riding to our rescue. As Armentano points out, in blue states like New Jersey, Maryland, and California, Democratic governors are treating cannabis consumers as walking ATMs. Governor Murphy wants to quintuple cannabis taxes in New Jersey. Maryland is looking to double the special sales tax on marijuana purchases. These aren't just annoyances – they're calculated moves that push consumers back to the illicit market, undoing the very benefits legalization was supposed to create.
This patchwork approach to legalization has created what amounts to feudal kingdoms where local rulers can target cannabis users however they please. The hodgepodge of conflicting state, county, and municipal laws turns normal people into criminals simply by crossing invisible boundaries. In Texas, the attorney general is actively suing cities that have decriminalized possession, forcing local governments to disregard voter initiatives out of fear of litigation.
Let's be absolutely clear: until cannabis is completely removed from the Controlled Substances Act, we will remain at the mercy of lawmakers and the special interests that fund their campaigns. The pharmaceutical lobby, prison industry, and alcohol/tobacco interests all have a stake in keeping cannabis users criminalized or overtaxed. These industries pour millions into campaign coffers, and politicians respond accordingly.
While we don't yet know how the Trump administration might approach cannabis if returned to power, his rhetoric about drug cartels and terrorists raises serious concerns. History has taught us that governments love nothing more than a good massacre or crisis to justify draconian new laws. The escalation of militarized anti-cartel operations in Mexico could easily become the pretext for a renewed crackdown on cannabis domestically.
Remember how quickly civil liberties evaporated after 9/11? How the Patriot Act was rammed through while the rubble was still smoking? I fear we're one border incident away from politicians using cartel violence as justification to roll back the fragile progress we've made.
Armentano's warning couldn't be clearer: "Now is not the time to become complacent, nor is it a time to presume that marijuana will somehow legalize itself." The war continues, the battle lines have shifted, and cannabis consumers remain squarely in the crosshairs – whether they're being shot at by Republicans with repeal efforts or by Democrats with taxation schemes.
Don't be a Casualty of War
Those of us who came of age during the heightened drug war hysteria of the 90s and early 2000s have a certain skill set today's younger cannabis users might lack. We remember walking around with eye drops in our pockets, perfecting the art of the towel-under-the-door, and speaking in elaborate coded language over landlines we assumed were tapped. Paranoia wasn't just a side effect – it was a survival mechanism.
Back then, smoking a joint carried a tangible subversive thrill. It wasn't just about getting high; it was an act of rebellion against a system we knew was lying to us. There was something almost romantic about it – echoes of the 60s counterculture filtered through hip-hop, Cypress Hill albums, and Kevin Smith movies. Being a stoner meant belonging to a secret society with its own language, rituals, and heroes.
But here's the hard truth many of us forgot along the way: until your rights are constitutionally enshrined, they can be taken from you just as arbitrarily as they were granted. The progress we've celebrated – medical programs, recreational markets, decriminalization – exists at the pleasure of politicians who see us either as moral degenerates or walking tax revenue.
The Controlled Substances Act isn't just bad policy; it's fundamentally a pharma-sponsored slaver's contract. That sounds hyperbolic until you examine the 13th Amendment's insidious loophole: slavery was abolished "except as punishment for a crime." By criminalizing what you put in your own body, the state created a legal framework to quite literally own you – to seize your property, your liberty, your vote, and your labor.
When Democrats impose crippling tax burdens on legal cannabis, they aren't just being greedy – they're sabotaging the entire experiment. These taxes push consumers back to the illicit market, creating the very problems prohibitionists then point to as evidence that "legalization doesn't work." It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, a rigged game where the house always wins.
The bitter reality? We've never experienced true legalization in our lifetimes. What we have is a tenuous, compromised version that leaves millions still vulnerable to life-altering criminal penalties while allowing politicians to boast about their progressive credentials.
This isn't your parents' drug war anymore – it's evolved, adapted, and in some ways become more insidious precisely because it masquerades as progress while maintaining the fundamental power dynamic: the state still claims ownership over your consciousness.
Earlier generations of cannabis activists passed the torch to us. They fought the brutal front lines – facing decades in prison, having their children taken away, being denied housing and employment. We owe it to them, and to future generations, to finish what they started.
Don't be lulled into complacency by dispensaries with clever branding and budtenders with tattoos. Don't mistake the ability to buy government-approved cannabis products for actual freedom. And don't expect politicians from either party to respect your autonomy unless you make it politically painful not to.
The war continues. The question is: will you be a casualty, a conscientious objector, or a freedom fighter?
Your body. Your mind. Your choice. But only if you're willing to demand it.
WHO IS BLOCKING LEGALIZATION, READ ON...
