The Social Order
It seems inevitable that the long-building crusade to legalize the sale and use of marijuana will succeed, as evidenced most recently by New York State legislation to do so. A society of liberty depends mainly on voluntary compliance to maintain the rule of law. There aren’t enough police to monitor every traffic light, for instance. Many have come to believe that banning marijuana use is impractical.
However, state governments are doing more than just acquiescing in the sale of what was once quaintly called grass. In signing New York’s new law, Governor Andrew Cuomo touted its potential to bring in $350 million annually in new excise, licensing, and sales tax revenues. Implicitly, then, we are witnessing the state’s not just accepting drug use but relying on its revenues and thus encouraging it. Government is now a co-conspirator in vice.
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