I entered adulthood in the mid-60s (marriage, children), and while I had vaguely heard of marijuana, I’d never heard about anyone using it in college, or anywhere else, until…

By the late 60s, people we knew who were not yet out in the “real world,” who were a little younger, or who had gone on to graduate school or military service, made us aware that they were quite familiar with the substance.Within a few years, we frequently began to see it in use at parties, rock concerts, etc.

I report this background only to point out that during that time period, marijuana use became widespread and more or less normalized, a situation that apparently continues today. So I was interested in the comments from the people who attended Lt. Governor John Fetterman’s “listening tour” to hear people’s opinion on legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

First, I was impressed that the event really was a “listening” event. Fetterman spoke only briefly at the outset of the meeting, without saying how he felt, then listened to the many people who lined up at the microphones to express their views, only interrupting to clarify some of their comments, or steer them back to the topic if they strayed too far into the weeds, so to speak.

The arguments both for and against are probably familiar. Those in favor argued that marijuana is no more, and maybe less dangerous than alcohol, that the “war on drugs” which started in the 70s made criminals of people for possession of small amounts of pot (a couple spoke from personal experience), that if marijuana were legal, it could be regulated and controlled the way alcohol is.

A few speakers said statistics from states like Colorado where it has been legal for a few years show abuse of opioids and other ‘hard’ drugs has gone down.

Those opposed to legalization said they have seen that marijuana use has, in fact, led to abuse of other drugs. They were also concerned about widespread use leading to more dangerous drivers on the roads.

The event probably didn’t change the minds of anyone who already had strong feelings on the issue, but it may have swayed a few who were undecided. What it did reveal was that generally, even those opposed to legalization do support medical marijuana and do support ‘decriminalization’ of marijuana possession, presumably making possession a minor offense, which would not be the blot on someone’s record that a felony would.

To me, this indicates that while many people aren’t crazy about the idea of complete legalization, most recognize that marijuana use is so commonplace that the harm of enforcing possession as a felony would outweigh any benefits. At least one person talked about the failure of Prohibition in the 1920s to curb the use of alcohol. Are we now at the point with marijuana where that comparison is valid?