Parvati Magazine February 2014 - Sobriety1 | Page 31

BUSINESS
With most of the United
States running a deficit
government and the
economy at what many
would say are crisis levels
I can understand why a
government would look
for new ways to balance
its budget and inject life
into its business sector.
Clearly, legal marijuana
shops seem to make immediate financial sense.
But just as the coffee
shop could buy non
fair trade beans more
cheaply, the apparent
bottom line is not the
whole story.
For a government to gain
income from a product
that is currently black
market may seem like a
good idea, but is it truly
appropriate to be powering and profiting from the
sale of a substance that
is linked to addiction and
whose widespread use is
far beyond any possible
medical rationalization?
Could the economy not
be strengthened in ways
that do not involve taking the money of people
who may be seeking to

escape the moment any
way they can? Could
there not be more sober,
bright and innovative ideas out there? What about
encouraging investment
in technology or focusing on rebuilding the next
generation of renewable
resource motor manufacturing sector? What
about finding a way to
reset the mortgage rates
crippling so many homeowners in America?

Could there not
be more sober,
bright and
innovative
ideas out there?

How does medicinal marijuana gain the approval
of the Senate while the
same governing body
is trying to shut down
the sale of vitamins and

other alternative natural
remedies that are not
associated with addiction or getting high? If the
government’s motivation
in legalizing marijuana
is the well-being of the
people, then the government should be equally
advocating the removal
of ingestible carcinogens
such as GMOs, pesticides
and food additives, and
taking stronger sanctions
against businesses that
pollute our air and waterways. This does not seem
to be the case, and businesses and citizens alike
owe it to themselves to
soberly ask why.
If legalizing the business
of growing and selling
marijuana is the best
that the US congress can
come up with to revitalize America’s business
sector, then perhaps
holding a position high
up on Capitol Hill does
indeed mean being
high on Capitol Hill. I look
forward to the day when
sober, awakened business practice is the norm
on Wall Street and Capitol Hill alike.

Since 1994, Rishi Gerald, f