I guess we’ll join in on the Ricketts hate train. But only to use him as an example.
Governor Ricketts of Nebraska made national news this week with the quote, “If you legalize marijuana, you’re gonna kill your kids.”
This is followed by him saying it is backed by data. When asked to clarify, his office pointed to studies that only provide association. Nothing even close to causal, let alone correlative.
Yesterday, Ricketts continued his venting process, showing how it has affected elementary school kids in Colorado.
Weed is coming to Nebraska. A vote to legalize will probably be coming in 2022, and another proposal was introduced by a State Senator that would create a framework for legalizing, according to the Journal Star.
That legislation is unlikely to pass, but time and time again we see that when it comes to the public, voting in favor of legalization will be the outcome.
This is why the lashing out over on Team Ricketts. His tactics are classic fear-mongering. You’re gonna kill your kids. The “data” cited is flimsy and the language used is just as effective as it is dangerous, as we’ve seen from over fifty years of prohibition. In this world there is no middle ground. There is either banishment, or your kids will die. No such thing as regulation and control.
Thankfully, this time feels a little different. It feels more like the lashing out of someone who is losing ground quickly as opposed to someone who can influence actual policy. His framework is being questioned, and only effort left is hyperbole.