Hello Kossacks!
This won't be a very long diary, but I hope you will consider it as important as I do.
I was looking at the new laws in Colorado and Washington State that legalize marijuana for recreational use. I think it is only a matter of time before we start seeing legislation like this passing all across the country. In fact, I have a feeling we will see President Obama make efforts to remove marijuana from the controlled substances lists before the end of his term.
There are a lot of advantages to this. The taxes will create new sources of revenue. No longer prosecuting these minor drug offenses will free up police time, reduce prison crowding and save states money. These are all great things.
There is also something else the legalization of marijuana could do, it could create jobs. Lots and lots of jobs. The only problem is, the new legislation doesn't guarantee those jobs will be created here in the US.
(more after the jump)
Looking at both the new laws in Colorado and Washington, nothing in either requires that the marijuana come from within the United States. They both require it comes from licensed facilities, but nothing defines where those licensed facilities can or can't be.
Once legalization starts, it is going to spread fast. This is a great opportunity for us to get ahead of this and secure these jobs. We need to make sure now that production stays here, in the US.
I'm not sure exactly how to do this, but I think it starts with making sure the text "grown within the United States," or something similar, is included in any bills, measures or amendments from here on out.
If we don't do this now, in 20 years all the marijuana will be imported from slave plantations in other countries.