ForetNorthern223
The war being waged for marijuana's legal acceptance in the usa includes a new battleground nowadays. Mass media has decidedly been the tool of prohibitionist since the very earliest times of "The Fight against Drugs". Who are able to forget Nancy Reagan's unforgettable "Just Say No" campaign from the Reagan era. "This is your brain, this is your brain on drugs" saw the 1990's Clinton administration frying eggs for the desired effect of scaring children straight. These days, you are "Above the Influence" and asked to not follow the crowd. What message is mass media sending towards the adults of 21st century, the generations these messages of the past were targeted at?
What do Time Magazine, The country Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and MSNBC all have in keeping? Each of these pillars of information distribution have dedicated some time and space to the point of legal marijuana in California and other regions of the country. The news pieces under consideration aren't in Nancy Reagan's words or perspective, however. The difference in opinion is really as vast as possible since media has determined that the legitimate argument can be made for the abolishment of marijuana prohibition as well as for legalization of cannabis.
The country Magazine's December 27th 2010 edition cover features the caption "D.A.R.E. to End the Fight against Drugs". Using the logo of Drug Abuse Resistance Education to accent the point, D.A.R.E. is self described as "giving kids the abilities they have to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence." The content "Altered State: California's Pot Economy" by Sasha Abramsky, analyzes the future of distribution and packaging of legal cannabis in California. The outcome that's possible on tourism for the Golden State later on if recreational marijuana is legalized is discussed as well as analyses on why Proposition 19 failed and what needs to happen for future referendums to pass through.
The brand new York Times on November 13th 2010 published an article entitled "Backers of Legal Marijuana Find Silver Lining in Defeat of California Measure" that went into great detail on what the problems were that resulted in the defeat of Proposition 19 on November 2nd. A conflict of ideology amongst the generations and the insufficient the predicted large turn out of younger voters were the main issues attributed to the defeat of the proposition. Based on the NY Times, the main reasons Prop 19 did not pass were the measure would be a "jumbled, legal nightmare" and questioned estimates of the potential tax revenue that legalization will bring in. The Times also acknowledged the Proposition didn't prosper in Los Angeles (47%) or using the older voters, especially those of older Latinos, a heavy voting block in Southern California.
The la Times, in an article published on December 16, 2010 and entitled "One Toke Over The Line", takes on Federal government insurance policy for legal marijuana and in particular R. Gil Kerlikowske, the Obama administration's drug czar. Mr Kerlikowske, in response to an annual survery that determined that teen marijuana consumption is on the rise among eighth through 12th-graders, was quoted as saying "Mixed messages about drug legalization, particularly marijuana, may be to blame. Such messages certainly don't help parents who're trying to prevent kids from using drugs."
The la Times editorial went on to argue Kerlikowske's point by citing another survey through the Congressional Research Service whose April 2010 findings examined studies comparing teen pot smoking in states with and without medical marijuana laws. No connection between such laws and drug use was discovered. "Concerns that medical cannabis laws send the wrong message to vulnerable groups such as adolescents appear to be unfounded," it stated.
Time Magazine jumped in to the fray using its November 22nd 2010 cover story entitled "The Usa of Amerijuana" complete with a huge burning joint on the cover from the magazine and also the caption "Legalization has gone in smoke, but 'medicinal pot' has gone mainstream". The ten page article, filled with pictures, covers issues such as cooking in cannabis and just how vernacular in the industry has changed from 'smoking pot' to 'medicate', 'dealers' are actually 'caregivers' and also the buyers in need are "patients" and never "users". The content goes on to compare marijuana as a hot commodity in certain regions of the country different color leaves as wine, dark chocolate and artisanal cheese.
Finally, even MSNBC, one of the largest cable news outlets in the world, broadcast an hour or so long documentary on December 8, 2010 entitled "Marijuana USA". The information covered everything from a few in Colorado who actively promote legal marijuana his or her business to some company that labels, brands and distributes seeds for registered growers to plant like a natural herbal remedy for what ails you. The documentary goes into detail how marijuana, in the states where it's legal for medical use, has been regulated, licensed and taxed, as with every other legitimate product.
The prohibition of marijuana in the United States took a firm hold in the 1930's. Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1971 and Ronald Reagan reinforced those efforts in the 1980s. There were times when the only real public advocates for legal marijuana appeared to be comedians for example George Carlin or Cheech and Chong which hardly gave legitimacy towards the cause and weren't any match for that Usa government's campaign against cannabis.
