Pot, Coke, Pros and Cons. Why New Yorkers Are Left Holding the Dime Bag (all puns intended)

As the writer @DrinkPro, I will talk about pretty much anything beverage related. No matter how minuscule, if it has ANYTHING to do with the beverage industry, I write about it. Which is why I'm writing about marijuana.

When I go to the polling place on election day, I have never voted for someone who said they would legalize pot. Why? Because none of the people I have ever voted for have supported or been against that issue. It doesn't mean I'd vote for them or not. It just means it has never been a campaign platform. So, why does it always seem to come up after an election?

I feel bad for the citizens of New York city that their mayor is spending his time on the clock talking about decriminalizing pot less than 25 grams and criminalizing Coke over 16 oz. I don't think either one of these issues was his platform when he ran for mayor. As for NY Governor Cuomo, in his 41 page One Year Progress Report, he didn't mention pot legalization as a campaign promise kept.

With far more serious issues confronting citizens across the country, why do our elected leaders continually make news worrying about nonsense? I wish politicians had to fill out an Official Agenda form when running for office, and, if elected, they were not allowed to discuss or legislate on official taxpayer time any topics not on the Official Agenda, with the exception of emergency issues, of course. That way, we could keep them on track with what it is they said they would tackle. They would have a list of the top 50 or 100 issues and voters would decide who's list is more worthy of their vote. If elected, and they finish off their list, then give them carte blanche to address any issue they want until the next election, when they formally submit their new Official Agenda.

We have high unemployment and home foreclosure rates across the country. Even while the national unemployment average fell almost 1%, New York state's unemployment went up a half a point. That's a 1.5 point negative swing for New Yorkers.

Nothing good can ever come from this. I know Cuomo and Bloomberg are sure to get a lot of support from pot smokers. And why shouldn't they? If I smoked pot, I'd be happy too. I just wonder how many of those applauding Bloomberg and Cuomo's efforts are out of work and on the brink of losing or have already lost their home. I really worry about our children's future when the grown-ups are consumed with what we consume. All puns intended.

@DrinkPro