63 days and still no collapse of Western civilization

It’s been two months and a few days since recreational pot has been legal to buy in Colorado, and partakers of the devil weed there have been so well-behaved not even Fox News can find anything to get hysterical about.  Granted, the state might still be reeling from the Broncos smackdown in the Super Bowl, but surely a few draws from the vaporizer could reduce that angst.

Governor John Hickenlooper, originally anti-pot, has now embraced the versatile plant.  The $70 million his budget had first predicted legal marijuana (medical and recreational) would bring in next fiscal year has been upgraded to $134 million.  This is based on initial sales figures reported from shops in the new industry.

This has got to be a nightmare for conservatives.  Apparently they can’t find even the most obscure reference in the Bible on which they can anchor their exuberant irrationality.  None of those “ifith a man lieith with another man” scriptures that come in so handy when you’re trying to refuse service to godless Sodomites.

Mind you, the rabid right still has ample anxiety to continue its quixotic assault on the LGBT community.  But this cannabis thing: whole different matter.  For one thing, it’s a compelling states’ rights issue, and the GOP is quick to point out the importance of that when it wants to post the Ten Commandments in a county courthouse.  Colorado and Washington state have merely asked Big Gov to give pot a chance.

Then there’s the jobs and tax income this new business provides.  After the Rocky Mountain state puts about $100 million of that yield into public health, treatment for substance abuse and youth drug use prevention, it should have a tidy sum for school construction.  The mind reels with jokes, all of which I can resist except the cafeteria menu at Cheech and Chong High School.

Now I’m distracted.  More than usual.  Bear with me, it is Mardi Gras.  In fact, I think I’m gonna cruise outta here and try to let the good times roll as best I can with a foot of snow on the ground.  Now, where did I put that vaporizer?