If there were ever a post which earned my moniker of "Political Buzz Examiner" this may be it.
Montgomery County is facing a massive budget shortfall nearing $1 billion, and one candidate for County Executive has a unique solution for tackling the issue: legalize marijuana. And he's a Republican.
If I write the name Daniel Vovak, it may not register in the minds of all but the most hardened political observers. But add his nickname of "The Wig Man" and it begins to make sense. (Now he prefers "The Whig Man" and that's what's shown on his website.)
Yet his financial argument for legalization is sound:
Vovak says, "It is inevitable that many jurisdictions within the United States will legalize marijuana. If our county is ahead of the curve on legalization, then we will also be ahead of the financial curve on making a profit for our county government. I want the headquarters of America's largest marijuana businesses to be in Montgomery County, Maryland, like the equivalent of Phillip Morris and R. J. Reynolds. New county funding sources will come from selling permits to marijuana farmers then taxing county-authorized resellers and establishing a national distribution chain."
I haven't been able to gather any statistical proof, but given the liberal tendencies of Montgomery County it wouldn't surprise me to find that marijuana use is somewhat above average there.
Yet this idea may impact the county on other levels as well, and it may provide a good-sized test case for the libertarian cause of ending the War on Drugs. Vovak also realizes there are necessary limits, though:
Vovak is open to voter commentary, believing marijuana should be regulated under the Department of Liquor Control and parents should self-impose marijuana rules for their children. An avid gardener, Vovak says he will require a permit for growing marijuana for household use and an expensive permit for resale use. To build state-wide agricultural support, Vovak says he will contact the highest ranking elected official in each county and begin a task force to grow marijuana as a legal herb in Maryland.
With the General Assembly debating medical marijuana this year, perhaps the time is ripe for more discussion of this subject. Of course, I can see the same contradiction on this as we have with tobacco - on the one hand discouraging smoking by banning it in most public venues and openly advertising smoking cessation programs, yet depending on the tax revenue for balancing the budget.
Perhaps readers may think Vovak has inhaled too much of the subject at hand, but I'll take him at his word that he's never partaken of the drug and encourage a serious debate on the merits of the proposal.
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