BY: SIMONE SMITH
Bob Marley’s song lyrics were prophetic and before its time. Legalize it don`t Criticize it, Legalize it yea-ah-yea-ah, and I will Advertize it Some call it Tamjee, Some call it the Weed, Some call it Marijuana, Some of them call it Ganja, Never mind, Got to. (Chorus) Legalize it… Singers smoke it, and Players of Instrument to Legalize it, Yea-ah, Yea-ah That`s the best thing you can do, Doctors smoke it, Nurses smoke it, Judges smoke it, Even laWyer, too so you`ve Got to (Chorus) Legalize it… It’s Good for the Flu Good for Asthma, Good for Tuberculosis, Even Numara Thrombosis Go To…. (Chorus) Birds eat it, Ants love it, Fowls eat it, Goats love to play with it So you`ve got to (Chorus)…. this song was released in 1976. (http://www.lyricsmania.com/legalize_it_lyrics_bob_marley.html).
Who would think that forty-one years later Canada would be debating the legalization of marijuana? According to the Toronto Star’s Emma McIntosh, according to the CBC report, Ottawa will secure the country’s marijuana supply and license producers. The national age limit to purchase the drug will be set at eighteen, but provinces will be able to set it higher. Provinces will also control price, along with how marijuana is bought and sold. Also, Canadians who wish to grow their own marijuana would be limited to four plants per household. The new rules generally follow the recommendations of a federal task force chaired by Anne McLellan, a former justice minister. The task force delivered a 106-page report in December with eighty recommendations.
Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief who, as a Liberal MP, was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s point person on the issue, briefed the Liberal caucus on the roll-out plan and planned legislation during meetings this weekend, CBC said. There is also a push to remove the profits out of the hands of gangs and put it into the hands of government by using government regulated grow ops.
In his lyrics, Bob Marley talks about the type of people that smoke marijuana. How would you feel if you know your doctor or nurse, or lawyer, smoked marijuana just before a big operation or big court case? What would it do for your confidence in that person’s judgment where you are concerned?
He also talks about the positive medicinal effects of marijuana, but what about the percentage of people who have a specific gene that when exposed to marijuana is brings on psychosis? How is the healthcare system supposed to be prepared for these numbers of folks who out of curiosity end up with a mental health issue and then require hospitalization? What about the impact on families? For example, where the sole bread winner is hospitalized and there is little to no income coming into the home to pay the bills, who will pay for those costs?
There is a lot of talk about the growing brain and that marijuana should be legal for those twenty-five years and over. Young people are our future any decisions made now must be made with this in mind.
My message to the powers that be is, please do not just look at the bottom line and profits. Look at the impact that this decision will have on generations to come.
Bob Marley was a pioneer, a leader in so many ways. His lyrics; so profound and full of wisdom. Let us hope that the eighty recommendations carry wisdom, thoughtfulness, and a keen sense of the impact this bill will have on people and families. Let us look at what other nations have done and build on the positive aspects and learn from the negative repercussions of legalizing marijuana.
The legalization of marijuana may not be something that all people are interested in, but let’s make it safe for those who want to partake of it. Dedicated to Robert Nesta Marley – 1945-1981.
