What Legalized Pot in Colorado Teaches Us About the Implementation of Obamacare:
Yes, yes, ha, ha, doofus white fucksack David Brooks of the New York Times wrote a doofus white fucksack of a column about how he broke the law numerous times by smoking pot (for which he does not apologize), and now that he's a grown-up doofus white fucksack, he thinks marijuana is bad, mm-kay?
The more important story is that legal pot sales started in Colorado on New Year's Day and...well, and nothing. Demand has driven up the price (note: the aformentioned doofus white fucksack columned, "One RAND study suggests that prices could plummet by up to 90 percent, before taxes and such," so, you know, wrong). But otherwise, "a peaceful, respectful and mellow crowd greeted the advent of recreational marijuana sales on New Year's Day."
And the reason that that's so isn't because everyone was high. It's because, over the last few months, as Colorado geared up for the legalization wake-and-bake, officials in the state who opposed the measure didn't act like dicks about it. From the moment that the governor, who opposed it, signed the legalization legislation, to the opening day of doobie-palooza, those who were against it acted like responsible citizens and made sure that the law of the state was implemented in as smooth a way as possible. "Marijuana industry representatives and public officials credited the smooth launch to months of planning and cooperation. Former foes agreed along the way to work together" on things like armed security at the new shops and raising the number of stores licensed to sell pot in order to meet demand and prevent the need for the armed security to use those arms.
In other words, anti-pot Coloradans didn't act like Republicans have during the implementation of Obamacare. In the Centennial State, they made the law work because it's the goddamn law.
As we hear continuous stories of all the blips and fuck-ups with the insuring of people through, especially, the federal exchange, you have to keep in mind that so many of these things could have been solved if, along the way, Republicans in Congress and at the state level had said, "Okay, fuck it. We don't like it, but let's make sure our people don't get dicked over." All states could have accepted the expanded Medicaid and insured another 5 million people. They could have set up their own exchanges, which have, for the most part, worked far more efficiently than the federal one. Over in Congress, they could have worked with the administration to anticipate problems and fix them ahead of time instead of trying for endless futile repeals. Fuck, they might have even gotten a few things in the deal.
If Obamacare is a success (and nearly 10 million people have insurance now who did not before, so, yeah, success), it will only be because so many people were desperate for health care or believed that insurance was such a good idea that they got it despite every time Republicans threw their bodies in the way. The only reason the website's initial failure mattered was because so many people wanted what was being offered. And Republicans simply tried and continue to try to prevent them from getting it.s
Yeah, the whole thing could go crazy. Colorado could become a stoner's hellscape of abandoned children, stores bereft of Cheetos, and slow car accidents. Probably not. But until that happens, at least the state is doing its best to make sure the law of the land and the will of the people are honored.
Of course, then there's the whole deal with gun laws in Colorado, but let's not spoil this happy, clappy picture of high times.
