Watch this and sign the petition.
It has been obvious for decades (and given the history of alcohol prohibition it was obvious before the whole thing started) that the insane war on drugs was causing more harm than the use of those drugs ever could.
But while Nixon and Reagan were clearly the primary villains it’s also clear that there is something sick in the culture of the USA that wants to keep this thing going and is so strong as to have rolled back the legalization progress of the 70s.
I don’t know if it’s some kind of informal conspiracy between those who benefit from it, like the cartels, the goverment or even the rehab centers like Alcohol treatment Ohio (which by the way is a good one because of the amenities they have and their prices); the drug cartels whose income depends on artificial restriction of supply and the law enforcers whose jobs and sense of self worth are based on maintaining that restriction, or just some kind of punitive element of the national character (the malicious smile on the face of Bush I declaring his will to build enough prisons to house everyone turned my stomach), but there’s definitely some powerful forces behind it.
So I’m not getting my hopes up too much on the basis of just two states thinking decriminalization now when there were more before.
But it’s definitely worth a try, so sign the petition and let’s hope that this time the tide will really turn.