There’s been a lot of buzz on social bookmarking sites like digg and reddit about yesterday’s announcement of a California bill that seeks to legalize marijuana. Those who introduced the bill and are defending it, as well as the hundreds (or thousands) of people who have been commenting on the story online, have listed a host of reasons the bill makes sense: it would allow the state to finally start profeiting from California’s largest cash crop and possibly fix its financial problems, it would take revenue away from criminals trafficing the plant on the black market, it would reduce crime enforcement costs, it would be great fun for pottheads…

While these are all great reasons to legalize pot, I was struck by the fact that hardly anyone is talking about the most important issue: freedom.

Have we become so used to being babysat by the govenment that we don’t mind them telling us how to live our own lives? Are adults capable of weighing the risks versus the benefits of pot use on their own –  or do we need the government to make that choice for us?

We need to be thinking bigger than just pot…

Update:

A Canadian Member of Parliament has also called for an end to prohibition. His reasoning: it would help to curb gang violence. Once again, no mention of freedom.

Update 2:

In light of increasing gang violence, the Conservative government in Canada is getting tougher on gang-related drug crime. Why not just legalize drugs and take the wind right out of the sails of gangs? Remember Al Capone? You don’t hear about gangsters killing people over alcohol now that it’s legal. It’s all drugs, now.