Like Illegal Yellow Oleomargarine, WI GOP forces Border Sale of Illinois Marijuana, making Criminals of us all.

Here we go again.

Just like in the days of illegally colored yellow oleomargarine, Republicans are about to make law abiding Wisconsinites illegal smugglers of completely legal recreational marijuana from Illinois (coincidentally, WI went to Michigan for oleo and soon...pot). Ok, so who needs civics lesson more, high school students or Republican legislators? After checking out the stories below, anyone want this insane nightmare to begin again?

During margarine’s long prohibition, the product was variously outlawed, taxed, prohibited from being colored and required to be colored pink (until “pink” was ruled unconstitutional).

Walker's Failed Legacy continues...: Add marijuana, recreational or medical, to the disgraced legacy of former governor Scott Walker, and another lesson we didn't learn with yellow colored oleomargarine.

Despite the entire nation of Canada and the growing list of states legalizing marijuana, Walker is convinced that our long history of arresting fiendish users of pot is reason enough to pack our prisons. Walker compares pot to the opioid epidemic, calling it a "gateway drug," similar to the way Dragnet's Sgt. Joe Friday used to say back in 1967:

Surprise, the police aren't going to support legal pot? So Walker wants us to return to a similar oleo-like rush to the Illinois border turning average Wisconsinites into criminals? We can afford that too? 

Speaking of opioids, want to partially solve that problem? Not Walker, Sen. Scott Fitzgerald and Rep. Robin Vos, who have relentlessly run away from real world problems. Republicans again want to just add to the problem:

Making medical and recreational marijuana available may be one way to help fight the opioid epidemic. Two new studies published yesterday found availability of marijuana is linked with lower rates of opioid prescription rates, our colleague Christopher Ingraham reports.

The first study found the passage of medical and recreational marijuana laws led to reductions in Medicaid opiate prescription rates of 5.88 percent and 6.38 percent, respectively.

That's a huge saving, and yet Republican "protectors of taxpayer money" are again willing to waste lots of taxpayer money staying true to their backward principles.

President Trump called on researchers to “come up with a painkiller that’s not so addictive.” The latest studies suggest that such a painkiller already exists — it is called marijuana, and it is legal for medical use in 29 states and for recreational use in 9 states plus DC.

The second study found that at the state level, medical marijuana laws were connected to an 8.5 percent drop in the number of daily opioid doses filled under Medicare Part D, a 14.4 percent reduction for states with medical marijuana dispensaries and a 6.9 percent drop in states that allowed pot cultivation at home. That’s compared with states that don’t have medical marijuana laws.

Illinois Recreational Pot in opens in Jan. 2020: Like our parents did for yellow oleomargarine, head for the borders folks: 

The Hill: Marijuana use among college students spiked to its highest rate in 35 years, according to a study published Thursday by the University of Michigan. The study showed that in 2018, 43 percent of full-time college students ages 19-22 reported using marijuana at least once in the previous 12 months.

JS: In late June, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law legalizing the recreational use of cannabis that lowers the barrier of entry to the industry … Illinois’ legislation the “gold standard” in large part because it lowers the capital barrier that some ran into. The law includes a cannabis business development fund of roughly $30 million to provide low-interest loans for those directly impacted by past cannabis laws. These “social equity” applicants include people or their families who have been arrested or convicted of a cannabis-related offense … juvenile arrest qualifies them as a social equity applicant.

Under recreational legalization, the cost of entry is as low as $5,000 with a social equity discount. ”...the owners (will) reflect the diversity of the state rather than deep-pocketed people who can afford really expensive licenses.”

State Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, says such a move could bring in $138 million a year. Sargent’s latest bill, cannabis business licenses in Wisconsin would be divided into five categories — producer, processor, distributor, retailer and microbusiness — but, as in most states, a business could hold multiple licenses. The bill does not include provisions for social equity applicants or disproportionately impacted areas but does call for discounted licenses fees for small businesses.

Must See: Dragnet 67's Joe Friday gets Schooled: What still boggles the mind is how actor Jack Webb, aka Joe Friday, came up with the brilliant script that argues for legalized pot in the show clip below. Webb even made Friday agree with some of the arguments. This is amazing stuff...WATCH: