This was initially meant for Governor Charlie Crist, but is completely open to any elected official in America. I would love to discuss these topics with anyone willing to do so.

Governor Charlie Crist,
I am asking you for an interview of sorts on the subject matter of marijuana and its prohibition as is viewed in Florida. I would like to get your answers to several questions I have, and would like to get follow up answers to my rebuttals. I understand your responsibilities require your attention and time, and am more than happy to accommodate an interview via email. However, I would like to get as much from you as possible, and feel that this would not be a one-time response; rather the exchange of several emails.

To give you some background, please read an article I wrote on my questions regarding the reasons our government often gives us for the prohibition of marijuana. With any amount of research into the subject, it becomes very clear that those who feel marijuana should be illegal are usually mis-informed at best.

So, I would like to pose the following topics to you, with a few questions sprinkled in there. Please be informed that I will be responding to your comments, and would really appreciate as much follow-up as is possible.

Your Overall Views
I would like to start lightly by asking for your views on marijuana. Do you feel it should be illegal and if so, why? Also, what are your views on the legalization of alcohol. Do you feel that alcohol should still be prohibited? If so, why?

I ask these questions to get a better understanding on your stance. I ask about alcohol prohibition because it relates greatly to many of the reasons I’ve seen for the recent law on marijuana cultivation.

It seems that the law in question was signed as an attempt to quell violence and overall crime in our neighborhoods. It’s obvious that prohibition didn’t work for alcohol, and in reality is the reason for the crime. If I posed the idea that the underground market of marijuana distribution and the crime that follows it is a direct result of the prohibition, what would you say to that? Is it not reminiscent of alcohol and the crime associate with its prohibition?

Our Kids
Myself and most of my pro-marijuana peers feel that marijuana is a drug that should be enjoyed by responsible adults. We certainly wouldn’t want our kids smoking weed anymore than we would want them getting drunk. So, we understand the very real problem we face in regard to teens and smoking marijuana.

But If I pointed out that this could be prevented by taking the power away from the people willing to sell to our kids, what would you say to that? If marijuana were legalized and regulated by the government, would this not allow a safer environment for the purchasing of the drug? Would it not allow for a legal way for people to sell marijuana, and thus relieve the desire to sell to all comers in order to make a quick buck?

I ask you to research the use of marijuana in other parts of the world where marijuana is at least decriminalized. Look at the amount of teen usage in those areas, and I feel you will see that because of the government’s hand.

In relation to our kids, even the United States General Accounting Office tells us that “DARE had no statistically significant long-term effect on preventing illicit drug use.” We fall so heavily on the “just say no” idea that when our kids finally try marijuana with no ill side effects, they question us all together.

As opposed to perpetuating mis-information to our kids, do you not feel that we should be educating them on the reality of the drug? Should we not be spending the money that goes into failed initiatives more wisely on prevention and education programs that actually work?

Our Safety
With the large amount of time and money spent on arresting and incarcerating people for marijuana related crimes, do you not feel that our law enforcement officers could be better utilized with attention given to the real crimes in our area?

Because of the amount of crime associated with the sales of marijuana, would it not be better to take the power away from the criminals all together, and focus our efforts on finding murderers and rapists? In Jacksonville we have recently had a hard time with financing our law enforcement. They are stretched thin enough as it is. I would feel safer if they weren’t so stressed.

One of the reasons given for marijuana prohibition is that it is a gateway drug. This thinking is no longer valid with the insurmountable amount of research done over the last few decades completely debunking that myth. I would like your response to that statement.

These are all of my questions for the start of a discussion. Please understand that I would like to post your responses on my blog: abovetheflat.com.