Sure, the economy is an abyss, an economic wasteland littered with foreclosures, unemployment and bankruptcy.

    For most of us, it’s as bad as it’s ever been, unless you are old enough to remember the Great Depression. Despite the fiscal wreckage, some folks think Gov. Bill Ritter’s cutbacks are going too far, too fast. Slash and burn education cuts, prisoners on the street and furloughs. Increased vehicle fees all while dropping services? A proposed tax on the children, for heaven’s sake, on soda and candy bars.

    Now he wants to tax the very cornerstone of the rebirth of 1970s American democracy, a person’s right to buy and smoke reefer.     

    Gone are the days when government simply took the idea of a pot-puffing populace off the legislative table, their eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the horde. And the dollars they are riding in on.

    The civil libertarian side of me immediately wanted to rail against “Tax” Ritter for another backdoor attempt at taxing the citizenry to death. Then logic took over, and I realized what a favor the Guv was doing for all of our Coloradoan pot-smoking brethren. Reflect on this. What legitimizes something more in the eyes of the political establishment than a hefty tax? Not a thing, that’s what.     

    Finally, someone above the level of city clerk realizes what the rest of us have known all along. You can make a staggering amount of money off of marijuana and reduce illegal trafficking at the same time.

    Best of all, once a tax goes in place, it stays. Politicians are loathe to give money back, even if their morals dictate otherwise. The few with morals, that is. The rest have big plans for your money, no matter where it comes from. And we are talking big money, once they realize what a fat cash cow they are milking and drop the medical pretense entirely. Then you’ll be able to pick up some Columbian with your chocolate, both taxed at the same rate, courtesy of Governor Ritter.

    In my view, it’s been a long time coming and way past overdue. Unlike societal staples tobacco and alcohol, the health effects of occasional marijuana use are minimal, and the pretense of it being a “gateway drug” are vastly overrated.  Ask around, the majority will tell you, just like you and I, the real gateway drug was the beer your older sibling or cousin copped for you at the local quickie mart. Pot came later, to those with a little more cash, and the inclination.

    Maybe it’s time we used some of that cash to bail out some of the things we really need, like education for our kids and supplemental food for those in dire straits.

    My vote goes toward legalization, regulation and

taxation.

    It’s the American way.