Cash Crop

One facet of Liberty is the core motto of "leave me the hell alone". That tenet extends to many things. Essentially, so long as I am not infringing on your natural rights, I'm free to do as I please.

That may be owning guns, more common amongst the Liberty crowd, but that tenet also extends to using substances, such as, in this case, marijuana.

Ultimately, the "war on drugs" costs this country billions of dollars and millions of arrests. Marijuana alone resulted in 872k arrests in 2007, 89% of which were simply for possession.

Heavy handed SWAT tactics, including no-knock raids also result in loss of lives, property, and even mistakes which endanger the lives of completely law-abiding citizens.

I'm watching California carefully on this one, as, along with the many states that are already working on reaffirming their 10th Amendment rights with regards to limiting governmental power, CA, in its own way, is also attempting to establish their independency from the Federal Government in this matter. If the $14bil number from that article is anywhere close to accurate, CA may be able to get a nice chunk of tax revenue, as well as see dramatic cost savings from not incarcerating their share of people simply possessing a naturally growing plant.

Remember, freedom is more than just guns, it's a way of living.