By: Sharon Jackson
With the dawn of warmer weather and foliage, comes exceptionally friendly people and their clipboards. I cannot count on one hand how many times I have been asked, “Are you registered to vote?” on the way to Portland State. In fact, while waiting for the Max train at Pioneer Square the other morning, I heard that very question faintly in my ear; I then turned to see a petite woman with a mellow demeanor smiling and holding a sign that said – “H.E.M.P 2014, Help End Marijuana Prohibition.”
Since I am registered to vote in the state of Oregon, I replied “Yes,” and then she asked me if I “have signed to Legalize?” “Legalize what,” I said. “Legalize cannabis in Oregon,” she proudly proclaimed. I smiled and politely declined telling her I don’t know where I stand just yet.
The train pulled up and we both got on board. She continued to ask other patrons, in the same faint voice and smile, holding her sign. Every single person that she asked nodded with delight and agreed to sign her clipboard. It reminded me of high school peer pressure to be one of the “cool kids.” A man even yelled to the entire train – “Hey! You all should sign this, it’s going to save the world!”
And this encounter is what prompted my continuous pondering of the matter – WHAT is all the hype and WHY is it that we should sign to “LEGALIZE?”
Where do you stand?