To light it up
Or
To not light it up legally.
By Julio Carrasco
To light it up or to not light it up legally? That is the question that if Prince Hamlet was alive today rather than holding a skull in Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1 from Shakespeare’s nunnery scene, he would hold a marijuana “fatty” and decide does he do it or not?
My name is he Julio Carrasco. I’m the Chicago Rican that speaks Spanglish not Spanish that you probably seen around downtown Chicago attending after hour events and volunteering for different nonprofit organizations not to mention running the Bank of America Marathon. On days that I’m not trying to serve more a philanthropic purpose (or playing a doctor on TV, kidding) I sometimes will take on writing a blog or a post or an article on something that makes me wonder how it can affect the future not only for me but for my family and my community and my city because for me Chicago is rooted inside me ever since 1984 and whether I’m living here or living elsewhere home and my kind of town will always be Chicago (Thanks Sinatra!).
So, you’ve heard the headlines coming from the newly appointed Governor, right? He’s on a path to legalize recreational marijuana. Which once accomplished will be bringing tons of revenue for Illinois and especially Chicago. The process before that is those that have been put in jail and what not for letting them out and not only that part but the restitution they would be given from the past. That is one big process indeed! Okay so let’s look at the moving forward and the what if scenario on the pros and cons on this being available for recreational purposes since medicinal is legal and CBD (Cannabidiol) is available because the part that makes it illegal is removed from it and don’t ask me how and what to break down on that part you can do the research yourself because that’s just too much for me to explain. So moving forward Governor Pritzker this is my point of view and opinions on the steps that I believe should be taken because you will have people on both sides of the fence that will agree or disagree with it and whether people like what I have to say or not that is on them I’m just going to voice it the way I personally see it in my own eyes especially in this 2019 digital era that we are in when it comes to taking everything online as it seems.
Today I type this its April 23, 2019 while reading the Reader I notice from the Reader that was printed on April 18, 2019 the cover is shown as Weed Whacked that talks about the process that begins to unravel before our eyes ad one that took my eye and got me to type this was one about the CTA’s Chronic Problem. I won’t go into it you can just look that one up and read the article written by John Greenfield about it but I want to highlight that as a Chicagoan I ride the CTA and the RTA and I’m one that also has to encounter people on the trains specifically smoking on them and for me it does become a bothersome. I start to wonder once you Governor takes the steps to legalize this here in Illinois how that will affect people’s commute on public transportation. Already were seeing more people use Lyft and Uber more and less riding the trains and buses from what studies are showing and I personally belief those smoking on the trains do play a big contribution to that decline. If recreational cannabis is made legal would that mean that people would be able to ride the trains and buses and be inside restaurants and businesses and be able to light it up there as well? I wonder…
Pros to that is revenue would be booming here and new jobs would be created. Crime could possibly go down because if its legal then the drug smugglers can’t bring that here since you would be able to purchase it anywhere that sold it right? However, I wonder personally, that in a state such as this if there is a lot of demand in the beginning and not enough supply made quickly what happens during that period of unavailability? Cons on this matter I wonder more is would the age be 18 or 21 on the purchase of something like this? Since with tobacco the raising to 21 here has I believed already taken place which is good I believe. However, in a matter as such as recreational cannabis even if it were at 21 is that an age that can handle such products like that Governor? I personally don’t believe that. I personally believe and once again probably some people of this age group will be upset with me on what I’m going to say next however I think of the long run and not only me but my family when it is this matter… I believe that the age to purchase recreational cannabis (marijuana) should be raised to 25 years old in Illinois. I personally believe that at 25 you have a bit more maturity and can handle that responsibility especially in public than those under 25 years old.
Now people might say Julio why would you want to bash this it can do so much for Chicago? Why are you on the hater juice on this? I’ll tell you straight out I just don’t like the smell and even if I did try it when it would become legal I’d probably more than likely not even be on the train since when it came to smoking cigarettes and drinking having to see my dad smoke and drink since he was young only to pass away to Lung Cancer in 2006 I personally have a stigma from that and even though this would have a different impact I just get that view of what tobacco had on my dad and just see it applied here. By the way I also do have Asthma and probably some will say oh well you know the medicinal could probably be good for your Asthma and you should try it and I’ll respectfully decline.
Governor Pritzker you have a huge task at hand I agree it will be a tough one that you are zeroing in on making legal however if you somehow come across this I would say thinking forward be prepared for the demand to possibly output the supply. Also if raising the age on something like this is not your cup of tea then be prepared for a decline in public transportation and an increase in ride share because if you make recreational marijuana legal then more and more people lighting up that fatty will definitely be using that on both the bus and trains and also in places of business. It will be like going to any casino outside of Illinois in say Indiana and as you walk in you get hit with the smoke and as you leave all your clothes and hair and everything you currently are wearing will have that smell which could turn off someone you come across that isn’t prepared to be near you during that time.
The demand for that will be high for the younger ones. The demand will also be high for those incarcerated for possession of marijuana as they will have to be released and given some financial restitution. Just know that if certain steps aren’t taken once this becomes legal than I see in 6 months to a year after it is in affect that the breaking news on this will not be goof for Illinois. I hope I’m wrong on what I am foreseeing. On an issue like this I would really hope I was wrong but for me my gut tells me this will not have a good outcome. It may work in places like Colorado or California but Illinois and Chicago well that could take a different toll where the price is a bit higher than usual. If I was Prince Hamlet, I would be to not light it up because if you light it up blindly without any guidance you will get burned. No pun intended.
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