Oh, the irony.
In this article, a Seattle spokesman sums Washington's nascent legalization of marijuana thusly:
On the city's police website, spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee said: "The department's going to give you a generous grace period to help you adjust to this brave, new, and maybe kinda stoned world we live in."
I don't mind going on record saying that I think pot should be legal, but I can't help noting the irony of the invocation of Huxley's dystopian cautionary tale, which was named for the ironic moment in The Tempest when Prospero's daughter, seeing non-staff humans for the first time declares this a "brave, new world" as the drunken travelers slither off their ship onto the remote island.
In Brave New World, people are kept docile by the steady administration of Soma, a contentment inducing drug.
Again, I do not criticize Washington for the legalization of pot. I think our legal system and detention facilities would be better served not to prosecute/incarcerate people who enjoy recreational weed. I just think that someone in so lofty a position as to be a city's spokesperson should be more aware of the implication of their words, and should be more careful about which words they choose to state.
As I recall, all the quotes that everyone is loving come from the SPD weedalization FAQ, which was written by someone from the Stranger, the Seattle alt-weekly paper.
ReplyDeleteI have doubts about offical SPD policy/behaviour changing to "free hugs" from "stomp a mudhole in you".
(Disclaimer - I'm on the other side of state and get my wetside information from residents and new/online, which can be presumed biased to an unknown degree.)
(Disclaimer 2: Hey, look, I'm biased too! :toot:)
For once I'll cop to the label of cynic, but I'd say it reads just about right.
ReplyDeleteAnd now enforcement gets even MORE interesting... And DUI is going to take a blood test to determine it...
ReplyDeleteWhen I read that quote, my mind raced to the same conclusion as yours, Phlegmmy.
ReplyDeleteOld NFO, I'll agree that our job will get harder when pot is legal, but the simple availablity of intoxication does not equal intent to commit DWI. Similar to the availability of weapons, to committing assault. It is in fact my feelings about weapons that contribute to my hands-off philosophy about the legalization of drugs.