It was hard to miss the ironic juxtaposition of two articles on the front page of the Daily Hampshire Gazette on Tuesday, March 8.
Above the fold one finds a discussion of whether we can risk broadening the legalization of cannabis, an intoxicant that commonly contributes to states of placidity, reverence, serenity, and sometimes delightful exhilaration.
For many years we have witnessed the annual gathering of thousands in the center of Amherst to indulge their shared pleasure in getting high in this manner, yielding tranquil and socially responsible gratification and requiring scant police presence.
Below the fold we read about the massing of 220 police officers from around the Commonwealth, including scores of police cars, prisoner transportation vehicles and a sophisticated command and control center established at the Amherst Middle School. There was even a law enforcement helicopter, all to maintain order during the so-called Blarney Blowout, a festival of besotted and sometimes violent alcoholic indulgence engaged in by swarms of students.
Imagine the cost to taxpayers for the mobilization of this virtual army and air force in order to protect our community from the desocialization and violent behaviors we have come to expect from imprudent alcohol indulgence.
Now try explaining to your kids the supposedly “sober” discussion journaled in the articles about cannabis legalization and the legal permissibility of alcohol. Good luck with that conversation.
Jonathan Klate
Amherst