Commentary by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — So Colorado passed itself a marijuana law.

When I was growing up in my native state, Colorado was pretty much a Republican state. My dad, who was born in Garden City, was fond of saying if you shook out all the Jayhawkers living in Colorado there wouldn’t be anybody left.

That has obviously changed. Colorado has had a population explosion as “enlightened” people from other places moved in because they liked the mountains in their purple haze majesty.

Now new marijuana shops are popping up across the state’s divide producing long lines of customers and great profits. Everybody wants to inhale the moment.

I don’t know how many people here in Wellington have asked me to pick up some weed the next time I’m in Colorado. I have to laugh, because we here in Kansas will forever be linked to Dorothy jokes. Colorado will now be linked to the same inane marijuana jokes. Maybe Dorothy was just in Colorado instead of Oz after she snuck around Aunt Em to smoke her Dooby. Was it really a tornado that swept Dorothy away or was she just up in smoke?

The whole legalizing marijuana thing is a bit humorous to me. It’s a “trendy” law, much like gay marriage. You support legalized marijuana your part of the now crowd. It’s Generation Zzzzz contribution to society.

I’ve heard all the arguments for marijuana’s legalization, and if that is what the majority wants so be it. I anticipate someday Wellington may have a downtown marijuana shop. I urge the city to paint the slanted parking lines a little brighter yellow when that happens since things will be a lot more hazier.

If any marijuana issue ever comes up for a vote in Kansas or Wellington, though, I’ll vote “no.” Why? Because why are we making laws to make us even more intoxicated than we already are?

For the past two decades we’ve put more regulations on alcohol. We’ve implemented anti-drug education, we’ve raised the drinking age, we’ve stiffened our DUI laws, we drug test in schools and our jobs. We’ve done everything to make it less desirable to lubricate ourselves and affect the lives of others. And statistics have shown that it is working.

But now we want to reverse everything and legalize pot?

I saw a report in the Denver Post in which drug abuse in Colorado amongst school children has made a dramatic increase after the state passed its recreational pot smoking laws (see story here). This after a steady decline in drug and alcohol abuse amongst our young.

Listen, I’m not preaching. If you love the state of an altered mind with the glories of hash, it’s your business.

But there are reasons why we have laws – and that is to save us from ourselves. Why do we get speeding tickets? To get us to slow down. Why are people thrown in prison for murder? To get us not to murder other people. Etc., etc. etc.

Personally, no marijuana law is going to affect me one way or the other. I won’t be lighting up a joint or sucking on a bong anytime soon — no matter how relaxed the laws become. Why? Because I’m frigging 49 years old!

But in my younger days, it might have been a different story had marijuana been legalized. One of the reasons pot smoking was not part of my life is I had that fear of being caught. I’m the kind of guy who gets caught jay walking because I walked into a moving police car. I have had 16 speeding tickets over my lifetime. My teacher always caught me doing something wrong first.

So the thought of buying an illegal drug and toking up was superseded by the penalty I was sure to face because I was sure to get caught.

You have to have that penalty.

I realize the pro marijuana crowd will jump all over me about the herb’s medical benefits, and how it is not addictive, and how it is not a gateway drug, and how much better it is for you than alcohol. Blah, blah, blah.

But when you dig to the core of this issue, it’s about intoxication. By legalizing marijuana, are we being allowed to get intoxicated more?

Of course we are.

Laws are meant to make society better. A law allowing for more intoxication is of no benefit to society.