Legalization of marijuana has become quite a cause of concern for a number of US politicians and lawmakers. This issue was raised after various researches suggested that marijuana or cannabis may have certain chemical properties which could provide relief to patients with debilitating diseases. Later, clinical evidence led researchers to believe that marijuana could help people with cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, AIDS and even epilepsy manage their symptoms better.
Due to that, a number of states brought up individual laws which decriminalized the use of marijuana and made it accessible for medical purposes. Up till now, almost twenty-three states have signed bills legalizing the use of medical marijuana. This legalization of marijuana has led to a huge divide between politicians and high ranking officials who are either against or for it. Some believe that it is a harmful drug and should not be legalized for any purpose while there are others who favor its accessibility.
With so many high profile people expressing their opinion openly about the matter, Ex-Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg is not far behind. One of America’s wealthiest businessmen and three-time Mayor of New York, Bloomberg, called medical marijuana’s legalization, “one of the greatest hoaxes of all time”.
The Ex-Mayor’s rigid policies earlier on earned him some very unflattering nicknames. During his mayoral tenure, he had attempted to impose city-wide bans on smoking and sugary drinks.
When asked about marijuana legalization, he certainly was not in favor of that either. He said that he believed in enforcing laws and did not think that de-criminalizing cannabis, even for medical purposes, was a ‘good idea’.
His views on the matter were not backed by public support. A lot of people in the city supported the legalization of marijuana, especially for medical purposes. When questioned about that, Bloomberg stated that the arguments for medical marijuana were weak and not based on factual evidence. He called it a hoax and dismissed all such claims by saying, “Medical, my foot. There is no medical”.
Bloomberg expressed his disdain for marijuana and any such illicit drug. He had been told that marijuana was much stronger in its effects than it was twenty to thirty years ago. Secondly, he argued that if marijuana was legalized, drug dealers who sold marijuana would then be tempted to sell some other, more dangerous drugs. According to him, all evidence pointed towards the fact that legalization of marijuana was a ‘wrong-headed’ move.
Surprisingly enough, Bloomberg had admitted previously, before he ran for Mayor, that he had tried marijuana in his youth.
During his mayoral term, he stated on a number of occasions that legalizing marijuana would be going against the law. In his statement, he said, “The problem is that once you go down a slippery slope, using drugs is probably a terrible idea, from where it goes, and I am very much in favor of enforcing laws on the books. And I’ve listened to a lot of people over the years discuss the decriminalization of some narcotics, particularly marijuana, and on balance, I would side with those that think it’s a bad idea.”
More recently, Bloomberg was asked about all the other states that were legalizing marijuana, and he termed it as a ‘terrible idea’. He criticized Colorado’s decision to make it legal and said that it would have some serious repercussions in the long run. He believed that marijuana was highly dangerous and its effects were more potent than alcohol or any other similar drugs
The Ex-Mayor of New York was of the belief that marijuana could have an impact on the average intelligence of the youth. He said that the legalization within other states was “one of the stupider things that’s happening across our country.”
