David Sirota: Drug Dealers Protecting Their Turf
from truthdig:
Drug Dealers Protecting Their Turf
Posted on Sep 21, 2012
By David Sirota
If you heard a drug dealer denigrate his competitors product as unsafe, would you trust his criticism? Or would you think hes a hypocrite with ulterior motives? Last week, thanks to Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper (CO), these became the central political questions in the fight over whether to continue Americas destructive War on Marijuana.
The frontline in that war is Colorado, where the federal government has interfered with its system of state-regulated medical marijuana businesses, despite President Obamas promise to refrain from doing so. Countering that crackdown is a 2012 ballot initiative that would make Colorado the first state to fully legalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol.
Enter Hickenlooper. In the same month a poll showed majority support for the marijuana legalization initiative, the governor blasted the measure for allegedly detract(ing) from efforts to make Colorado the healthiest state and for send(ing) the wrong message to kids.i
What makes his announcement so stunning, and what evokes the drug-dealer comparison, is the governors career as a purveyor of the drug commonly known as alcohol. Thats right, as the founder of the states first brewpub, Hickenlooper was instrumental in flooding the state with his beery drug of choice. In fact, he is so proud of his record pushing that mind-altering substance that he recently made national headlines telling reporters that Im the first brewer whos ever been a governor. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/drug_dealers_protecting_their_turf_20120921/