The latest dope

THERE was an interesting story in the paper Sunday; actually several, as is the norm. (A salute to the desks that put together that biggest paper of the week.) This article, however, had to do with pot on the ballot.

You’ve surely heard that Arkansas voters will see a couple of ballot questions having to do with medical marijuana next week. One of them might even have its votes counted. (The Supreme Court has ruled against the other, but your ballots have already been printed.)

This story, though, was a national story by the Associated Press. Because there are a handful of other states around the nation that will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana next week.

It’ll come as no surprise that there are arguments in those states about who should be able to grow the weed, who should be able to sell it, how it’s going to be labeled. There is even talk about the marijuana “business model,” and whether this government or that outfit should be able to hold a monopoly on selling dope. My, how times have changed.

But the most interesting part was this, plugged in the story almost casually, as if it were only a fact, and not much of a controversial thing:

“Recreational legalization is on the ballot in five states this November, and all five currently allow some form of medical marijuana already . . . . ”

Just as most of us suspected. Medical marijuana is only the first step. The next step is recreational marijuana. And everybody who’s pushing either, and we mean pushing, will admit as much if they’re honest. And some of them are.

Reason No. 48 why Arkansas should reject medical marijuana next week. If marijuana is a gateway drug, then medical marijuana is a gateway law. And soon, in only a matter of years, we’ll have another, much larger, fight on our hands. See Arizona, California, Nevada, Massachusetts . . . .