Million Pot Smoker March! Take 2

Time to march on Washington!

It seems to me that NORML has been taking a low profile approach to changing drug policy in the US, but in my opinion it's time for more overt action.

I get the sense that more and more people are ready for something to happen and are willing to support rationalization of US drug laws, but they need to see a focused effort. The prohibitionists ARE focused, and that's why their policies continue to thrive.

Because public support for pot legalization seems diffuse, politicians perceive that there's little political capital to be gained in supporting legalization, or even relaxation of drug laws. Not only that, but they lack the tools to frame the debate in favor of legalization.

The framework for this is there, the knowledge is there, but it's only known to those who seek it out with an open mind, and is not well known at all among the general public. Thus, where prohibitionists only need to say a few words and everyone knows what they mean, legalizationists have to use many paragraphs to explain their position, and by then they will have lost the attention of their listeners anyway.

What I'm getting at is this: there are plenty of latent supporters out there, people who kind of think it might be a good idea to change the laws, but as soon as they speak up, they are barraged with a deluge of ready-made arguments from their prohibitionist friends. They have little ammunition to fight back, and little motivation to seek that ammunition.

The ready-made arguments of the prohibitionists are their ammunition they have developed, stockpiled, and distributed over the years, and they allow them to frame the debate in their favor.

Anyone who wants to effect change has to also frame the debate in their own favor.You can't do this by just telling people to go look at a website, you have to have short, clear, concise arguments full of implied information supporting the argument, and once you have these, you have to disseminate them.

This is where a march on Washington comes in. A concentrated, focused effort such as this could change the way people perceive anti-drug war activism, and it would be a good venue to inaugurate widespread dissemination of rhetoric to frame the debate in favor of legalization. I don't know if this could be accompanied by advertising in the various media, advertisers might not accept it, but at least the coverage of the event itself would be significant.

If people who are for legalization see large numbers of like-minded people taking action, some will be curious why this is happening, some will be encouraged to find out more about it, and some will be encouraged to join in taking action. A march on Washington would show that people care, and that people are ready to support politicians who support legalization.

Here is my suggestion for a beginning on framing the debate for legalization.

Legalize pot and...

- We don't have to spend anymore money trying to arrest, prosecute, and encarcerate dealers or users.

- We can tax the sale of it moderately, like tobacco and alcohol.

- Prices will be reasonable and there will be little reason to commit crimes of any kind in order to get it.

- Medical uses will be acceptable.

- We can start producing hemp products again.

- Money will be taken out of the pockets of organized crime and terrorists.