On Saturday last, on NPR, the topic of discussion revolved around allowing hunters in Pennsylvania (PA) to hunt on Sundays. Individuals representing the PA game commission and hunters' groups were in attendance, giving their opinions on the merits of Sunday hunting and debating the various statistics for and against this suggestion. One of the main arguments for Sunday hunting was that the increased activity and travel within and to the state would bring upwards of six hundred million dollars in revenues to the state coffers. During a segment in which the announcer read listener emails aloud, a commenter wisely stated that, since the state is currently facing bankruptcy, any revenue streams that could generate money for the state that did not in any demonstrable way cause harm to large segments of the population and that did not infringe upon the People's constitutional right to life, liberty, and property (their bodies), any such revenues are needed to keep the state afloat during these times of economic hardship.
This is a solid argument based on the idea that, by licensing individuals to perform and engage in activities that bring them joy or satisfaction, and by said licensing to ensure that the People remain safe and secure in their person while not negatively affecting or otherwise infringing upon the rights of others, the People should be granted the ability to act in liberty and to enjoy those activities they wish to do while contributing to the economic well-being of the state as a whole.
This argument also remains solid when applied to the concept of granting licenses to individuals who desire to cultivate and consume Mood Altering Substances in the privacy of their own homes. The legalization of the cultivation and consumption of marijuana, for example, by fully emancipated adults in the privacy of their homes who are not demonstrating a willingness or desire to harm others in any way, would: provide steady and reliable revenues to the state coffers through licensing and cultivation fees; reduce overall crime by limiting the power of organized criminal enterprise; decrease state expenditures on prisoner housing by eliminating roughly twenty percent of state prison populations that are made up of non-violent drug offenders (see here); lower the instances of gateway or crossover consumption by reducing the average, upstanding drug consumer's need to visit drug dealers to obtain the means by which he should decide to pursue his Happiness; and reinstate liberty to the American citizen by granting her that right that is enumerated in the constitution, and thus allowing her to take responsibility for her actions and to lead her life as she sees best fit so long as she is not infringing demonstrably upon the enumerated rights of others.
Additional revenues can also be generated by placing a usage and manufacturing tax on individuals brewing, distilling, or consuming alcohol, a Mood Altering Substance that in its use is responsible for widespread physical harm and for various societal suffering, most notably assault, battery, rape, and otherwise violent and aggressive acts. We would do well to tax those who so brazenly tax our society with their consumption of alcohol.
The commenter rightly stated that activities that do not threaten the well-being of others and that are well-managed and well-structured can provide revenue to the state, through licensing and fees, thus allowing the People to live their lives in liberty by the methods that to them shall seem most likely to affect their economic, spiritual, or bodily Happiness. Marijuana consumption in the United States has remained constant throughout the so-called War On Drugs (see here) over the last forty years, billions of dollars have been spent to restrict the People in their liberty, billions of dollars that could have been funneled into state and federal coffers through the legalized, taxed, and structured manufacture and distribution of the drugs Americans want to consume. Just as there are laws in place to assure that Mood Altering Substances (MAS) such as alcohol, tobacco, and coffee products are manufactured in ways that will not harm the consumer, the manufacturing processes of all other MAS must be regulated to ensure that the American citizen can access and consume whichever MAS he or she decides are best while being fully confident that those MAS are not contaminated with toxic or otherwise dangerous fillers.
According to the Declaration of Independence (see here for the document you should read once a week), the purpose of government is to bring about the Safety and Happiness of the People. We already allow for the safe manufacture of certain MAS; let us now allow for the safe manufacture of all MAS, so as to satisfy the constitutional right of the People to be safe in the property (their bodies) while they are operating rationally under the liberty of thought and deed.
If a person can be entrusted with the responsibility of handling and operating a weapon in areas where other people are present, that person should be entrusted with the responsibility of handling and consuming, in the privacy of their own home, whichever MAS they decide would serve them best.
Give the people liberty, and they will prove that they are worthy of rational thought and virtuous action.
Ultima Ratio Regum - 場黑麥 John Paul Roggenkamp
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