Okay, this may be quite a rant, but it’s here in case someone wishes to read.

A North Carolina Senate committee approved a bill to legalize medical cannabis in the state. It still has to get through 3 or so more committees before it’s put onto the Senate floor, but this is good news. Now, I am all for cannabis legalization on all levels, because there’s no valid reason to criminalize a virtually harmless plant. Yes, I do think that this is a great step towards healing our society and righting the countless wrongs caused by the inherently racist and calamitous “War on Drugs”. It may not be the ideal, full recreational legalization, but it is a start, and I’m thankful.

However, after reading some articles regarding this topic today, I couldn’t help but notice a comment from Majority Leader Kathy Harrington(R). She said “If you had asked me six months ago, I would have said no, but life comes at you fast”, a reference to her husband who was recently diagnosed with blood cancer, an obviously debilitating disease that qualifies for medical cannabis treatment.

I would now like to promptly respond to this by saying FUCK that reasoning. All the children and adults in NC suffering from agonizing epilepsy, cancer, MS, PTSD, etc, and you were still opposed to helping other people get proper, healthy treatment until someone close to you gets cancer? How blatantly and unashamedly selfish. This is (yet again) such a prime example of the “Fuck you, I got mine!” culture that has long entrenched our state’s mentality.

A recent poll from Elon University stated that 73% of North Carolinians support medical cannabis and over 54% support full recreational legalization, but you mean to tell me that you’re opposed until YOU need it for your family?

Our state Senators do not give a single, minuscule fuck about what their constituents want/need until it affects them personally, and it’s another example of how much they do not represent us or our intentions in politics. Of course, we all know, or should all know, that the main reason as to why our Senators oppose recreational cannabis legalization is because then they can’t incarcerate as many black people, but that’s a rant for another day.

To reiterate, I do think that this bill is a step in the right direction, but the motivations of our legislatures differ drastically from ours, and it affects all of us, especially black communities, in many different ways.

Vote these bigots out of office.