#3 The company has decided to go in a different direction and your services are no longer needed
It seems that every issue that is important to me is way bigger than I am and I don’t have the time to do good detailed work on something that is not already being debated across the state, even if most state debate topics are unbelievably trivial. Because of this I am no longer going to be focusing on solar panels and trying to understand the whole picture because as usual everybody is short sighted and is fine with using them for green energy now even if they become a horrible toxic pollutant ten or twenty years down the line.
After giving up on that because I am a quitter and could not find an article relating to Vermont that was not overwhelmingly in favor of solar panels so I decided to follow the advice for the directions of blog post #3 and look through my course-mate’s blogs. Some of the blogs got the ol’ cogs turning and I thought about the heroin epidemic in Vermont, and how the United States has gone about handling addiction entirely wrong and as consequence has ruined countless lives. I thought I would research how other governments are handling addiction and drug use and it would be great and insightful could really help people out especially since our state is so filled with heroin. I started doing a bit of research and it was super interesting but the scope once again was too big, and I thought “Wow, look at the Ottoman Empire. It existed for like 700 years and then just disappeared and there were probably so many people like us who are trying to make a difference and now it doesn’t even matter. Nobody knows their name, they’re not even a footnote in history.” So I decided I will do a topic that is in the forefront and easy whether I care about it or not because in the absurdity of life all we can do is take pleasure in the fact that it doesn’t make sense and do our best to live a happy life yourself. So now i’m focusing on the legalization of marijuana in Vermont.
The issue that interests me at this time is the legalization of marijuana in Vermont. I think it is interesting because marijuana has been falsely advertised for years and used by the federal government to target political organizations and racial minorities and now we might finally be getting to a place legally that is the only logical place to put a PLANT. I know that the only conflict is Phil Scott wanting their to be away to test if somebody is under the influence of Marijuana in moments because THC stays in the body for 30-70 days after use and so all drug tests would test positive even if you used Marijuana months before, and all tests need to be analyzed in a laboratory unlike alcohol so there is no way to roadside test. The bill past in the state legislature but good old Phil Scott swooped in at the last moment with his power of the veto. I am wondering about the economic structure that the state wishes to have when Marijuana is legalized? Does the state plan on allowing individuals to grow their own Marijuana? Even if he cannot change the fundamentals of science and develop a new roadside test will Phil Scott allow for legalization of Marijuana or will we have to wait till 2018? How will the legalization of marijuana affect the already legal medicinal marijuana institution? How will schools around Vermont deal with the legalization of marijuana, because all my life I’ve been taught how horrible it is to the point that if you replaced the word pot with heroin the conversations would sound like somebody was actually doing their best to educate kids about the dangers of heroin? In all actuality this is a topic that interests me and I hope that we can see the legalization soon so we can stop talking about it and move onto more pressing issues like the fact that Vermont has a very racist police force.
Featured Image:
Scudder, Laura. “Amsterdamhashhempandmarijuanamuseum.” Flikr, 12 Sept. 2008, www.flickr.com/photos/laurascudder/2856864421/in/photolist-5msbg8-seXp1n-seXpDM-qeQkyr-sePm9q-64VQXv-4W2GwT-nTR6a4-qeQk3M-eauYR8-qU3UQj-seXhkD-sd5zoH-seQkcA-seQnV1-seXhDV-od7apK-objPnD-swnJJZ-obkn6i-obfQDb-BFk4e-9YZTnZ-sd5u6P-fhJXw-4W2Gqn-seXmkn-YE4Wb-HdBiz-dJQEpo-su7tVY-9Z3Ndd-5GdLxW-6RGMio-9Z3Mdh-9YZS6a-9Z3PpN-HdzLE-9YZSm2-9Z3LYw-7ag9V6-HdBHR-ioxwd-fs8G7Y-4KSTzq-cj3Mj-5KrhjW-7Nv14K-frTmGF-efPUcj/.
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Hi Olympia, I think your choice of topics is an excellent one. There are several angles you can take. One is the argument that Prohibition (of alcohol) was a catastrophic failure and was the reason organized crime (Mafia) developed in the US. Another angle is that all evidence shows that the way to treat drug addiction is through preventative education and treatment. Your strongest argument may be the scientific one. No one has ever been able to muster credible evidence that pot is a “gateway drug” or that it has any serious side effects. In addition, the medical benefits of it are remarkable.
Is marijuana prohibition driven by money rather than science? Legal pot will seriously cut into the pharmaceutical industry. Aspirin, nausea drugs, etc, etc can all be replaced by a natural plant. Drug companies stand to lose millions if it’s legalized.
The other legal issue to study is the police racist targeting of people of color for minor drug offenses like smoking marijuana. Poor Young people wind up in jail for the things privileged white people get away with.
Good luck!
Wow Olympia! This is such a dramatic change in topic! I think that this is a very relevant and important topic, but I would urge you to follow your passion during your time with WtS. Come January/February/March, if there is no passion there very well may be no project. I think this is something you could really get into on a local level, especially if you’re interested in the governmental side of the issue. The prohibition of marijuana is a fascinating issue from every perspective. Are the pharmaceutical companies the ones dictating marijuana laws? How is the government using it to fund the corporate mess that is the US prison system? I really think there are a million ways to delve into this topic – which is great! Just be sure you are /truly/ interested in the topic! This is a big project you’re taking on and you want to make sure you can have pride in it! Follow your instincts and do your research!
Best,
Eva
Olympia, Eva, I want to qualify something I wrote earlier. Saying “the police racist targeting of people of color” is not accurate. The police enforce the laws. I’m not saying they can’t be racist or do racist things, but I am saying that it’s the policymakers, Congress and the President, who have crafted racist policies, especially around the so-called “war on drugs” , that ushered in the current US Era of Mass incarceration. We incarcerate a higher percentage of our population than any dictatorship…we may be #1 in the world in this area. Looking at the demographics of prisons, it’s clear that people of color are the targets. And main reason for the explosion of prisons and mass incarceration are the laws and policies of the government and the enforcement of them by the judicial system. You can read Michelle Alexander’s book, THE NEW JIM CROW, if you want to learn about this.
If you go back to the Vietnam War and the CIA backed wars in Central America in the 80s, you find that the US government was responsible for the surge of drugs that crippled poor urban communities during those times. Each time for a different reason, but with the same horrific result on individuals and communities.
I guess what I’m saying is that you’re onto a hot topic!
Hey Olympia. I think that both of your topics are very important and relevant to the future of vermont. I am sorry that you could not find an unbiased report on your original topic, but i think your new topic is just as relevant. I hope to read more of your posts in the future.
Hi Olympia,
Sorry the solar panel investigation went nowhere, hitting a dead end like that is always a buzzkill, but I’m glad you’ve found a new topic that you are interested in. The ramifications of legalizing marijuana are definitely something we should be considering in Vermont, with the current efforts for legalization we are facing in the state government. The economic impact, the impact on communities, and way this would affect our justice system, these are all very relevant issues in this day and age, and I look forward to seeing where you take this.
Hey Lucy,
Thank you for responding to my post. I completely agree with you, and that is why I decided to do legalization of cannabis as a topic. Also very funny pun with the whole buzzkill thing.
sincerely,
Olympia
I can relate to your struggle, Olivia. Often it seems hard to make a difference at our age, but we can only try our best. It is almost more so difficult because a lot of times people strive to change a stubborn industry, like you were commenting on the solar panels.
I agree with you that marijuana is a conflict that needs to be addressed in our state. I never knew how long marijuana can be tested in your body, that is crazy! I also thought it was interesting how you related marijuana and heroin. I don’t know if I am interpreting your last part right, but I know in school I was taught how a multitude of drugs were bad, not just marijuana. Keep it up!
Hi Riley,
What I meant (sorry I was not clear enough) is that the drug education I have been given throughout my life has demonized cannabis to the point that the danger they claimed existed with cannabis was comparable to the dangers of heroin, when in reality cannabis has literally no dangers.
Hi Olympia,
I was thinking that if you go back to look at the history of the criminalization of marijuana, you may find that clothing companies had a reason to criminalize it because it threatened their profits. (like the pharmeceutical companies) Hemp is a very strong, durable material to make clothes etc.
Hemp used to make clothing is grown differently that that used to make marijuana.