political discourse / medical marijuana
Medical Marijuana 2016, 26X48” Rolled dollar currency, marijuana joints, gold metallic 5-point stars and encaustic on board.
Legalization of medical and recreational use of marijuana is happening in America. The marijuana policy landscape changed rapidly between 2002 and 2013. During that time, 13 states passed medical-marijuana laws, 10 states relaxed penalties for marijuana use, and Colorado and Washington became the first states to fully legalize recreational pot use and California it is now on the ballet. (The Washington Post)
The American public often receives conflicting information as all interested parties lobby for the opportunity they prefer. The parties include Wall Street investors and Agri-corporations looking for business supply monopolies, pharmaceutical companies that seek profit in controlling distribution, incarceration facilities that will see government payments for offenders decrease, law enforcement who fears increased crime, parents who fear the possibility of adolescent gateway, towns and states that desire a tax base, and finally, people who actually receive medical benefit from marijuana in treatments for conditions such as autism, epilepsy, cancer, sleep disorders, AIDS and others.
It is early in the sorting process for the American public.
“Americans always do the right thing eventually—after they’ve exhausted all other alternatives.”
— Winston Churchill, attribution