The Many "Marijuana Purists" of Austin, Texas

I recently spoke with an Austin man who told me that he strongly supports legalization of marijuana, but that he believes that any and all consumption of drinking alcohol should be outlawed.

Marijuana, he insisted to me, is very innocuous and has no harmful effects, he said. Alcohol, by contrast, has been clearly linked to a wide array of medical problems and injuries, he added.

That very same Austin gentleman also told me that he would support a proposed new Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that permanently prohibits the production, sale, possession, and consumption of drinking alcohol anywhere in the United States.

I did emphasize to the gentleman that I myself strongly support both the outlawing of alcohol consumption throughout the U.S.A. AND the outlawing of marijuana activities. I myself have read factual studies clearly linking marijuana consumption to a wide array of medical problems and injuriousness to human beings.

It was fascinating, in any event, to sense that this self-identified "Marijuana Purist" equated his own affinity for marijuana with "benevolence" and "goodness." By contrast, he apparently equates alcohol-related activities with "evil" and "immorality."

Yet another Austin man told me this 21st Century that he himself is also a Marijuana Purist. He regards consumption of Marijuana as an innocent and enjoyable activity with no harmful side effects, he emphasized.

That latter Austin man then launched into an indignant denunciation of what he said was the outrageous conduct of a former acquaintance of his ----who allegedly in 2010 has been repeatedly consuming both crack cocaine and heroin in Austin, Texas, the self-identified "Marijuana Purist" volunteered.

It was clear from talking with this
"Marijuana Purist" that he draws a sharp distinction between his own "morally superior" marijuana pursuits, as he views them, and, on the other hand, the citedly ignoble and unconscionable consumption of crack cocaine and heroin (among the various illicit-drug possibilities) by many Austin residents in this "Capital City Along the Colorado River."

All of this suggests the need for sociological and social psychology and criminological studies that might help explain why marijuana consumption, in particular, is being defended and exalted with fervor ---and romanticized --- by millions of Americans of today.

It often seems, in fact, that if a candidate for U.S. President were to declare that he supports nationwide legalization of marijuana, millions of Americans would regard that one stand of his as the primary reason why they voted for him in the Presidential Primary or (if applicable) General Election.


It also seems likely that those "Marijuana is My Top Voting Issue, and I'm Pro-Pot" American citizens would like to see the White House stationery logo altered to include a sketch of a Marijuana Leaf. And that scenario, if it ever in fact occurs, would clearly signal the deplorable demise of American society and our sometimes-great United States of America.