Be serious about money, our state and our country for a minute

If you've lived here in Oklahoma for any length of time, you know that without positive change we will fall further behind as a state financially. Higher taxes and casinos; which are a tax too, don't work. They consume resources and use them inefficiently. To consider continuing down this same path of more of the same and continuing with the anti-cannabis rant and refrain is insulting to all of us. 

Heraclitus said 'No man steps in the same river twice'.

Change is coming.

Look at what Tesla is doing with cost competitive sustainable energy and consider what the emerging trend of continued reduction in oil derived energy will eventually mean for our state.

Whether things change in a positive way or some other way is up to us.

States need tax revenue to provide basic services.

The newly green states like Colorado are seeing their state tax revenue up, crime down and a strong growing economy. They have growing entrepreneurial activity in nearly every sector and that means people are being productive and growing their real wealth and their freedom.

Freedom is good. Real wealth and savings are good too. Both these things actually grow the economy and raise everyone's standard of living. But we have strayed away from what the founders called 'enlightened self-interest' and become more dependent as a people upon government largesse. This is a fundamental error. It is completely unreasonable to think otherwise.

Government doesn't grow the economy. They think they do. They inhibit it. Cannabis prohibition is a perfect example of this.

Any rational government policy would not inhibit something so utilitarian and egalitarian. They would spread the wealth back to the people by letting them earn it through entrepreneurial activity. 

But if the prohibition objective is maintaining the status quo and excluding honest competition, then I suppose you could call it rational. Pretty much any other argument for continued prohibition is skewed toward the emotional and, often enough, supported by entrenched industry funded research.

Cannabis freedom is a way for all of us to move in real way toward a rebalancing of this freedom/wealth/energy equation; to change the status quo in a positive way. With wise use and in combination with current and future solar and battery technology, the possibilities for positive change in every area of life are actually kind of exciting.  

All that is required is better communication and a real, thoughtful dialogue that focuses on facts, cost effectiveness and real value and not conjecture or preconceptions. There are literally 50,000 practical uses for cannabis. The agricultural and environmental benefits alone would be incredible enough. The truth of the enormous benefit of cannabis freedom is actually pretty straightforward.

I trust Oklahomans will see the light soon.

I encourage you to travel to a cannabis friendly state and just take a look around for yourself. There are several surrounding us and there will be more of them soon enough. Be respectful always if the subject of cannabis comes up when you get back to Oklahoma.

No one likes or listens to a bully or a know-it-all.

Be well.