In the 1930’s, Aldous Huxley published his novel Brave New World, which described a dystopian society that controlled every aspect of the lives of the inhabitants of the World State.  In the 1930’s, the ideas that the government would ban live births, dictate how many  and what type of children would be born, or “decanted,” would indoctrinate children in schools to do the bidding of the State, would do away with privacy, regulate every aspect of people’s lives, and would keep the citizens sedated to control them, was a fantasy.  In today’s America, it is becoming fact.  We now live in a world where so-called progressives prefer abortions to births, and where they encourage abortions for reasons such as gender choice.  Our public schools and even colleges have been turned into indoctrination factories, run by anti-American and anti-capitalist fanatics.  The advent of the 24 hour news cycle, cell phones, robo calls, internet search tracking, GPS tracking, and eavesdropping by Alexa and Siri, have effectively put an end to any notion of privacy.  And now, under circumstances hauntingly reminiscent of Huxley’s Brave New World, the government is pushing drugs on its citizens.  In Brave New World, the government supplied citizens with the drug Soma.  Not only supplied it, but actively encouraged the use of this tranquilizing substance.  Soma was ingested daily by the citizens of Brave New World as it offered what Huxley called a “holiday from reality.”  Depending on the dosage, it stimulated feelings of euphoria, pleasant hallucinations, or acted as a powerful sleep-aid.  It also served to heighten suggestibility, thus increasing the effectiveness of the propaganda to which the citizens were continuously subjected.  The inhabitants were trained to rely on Soma, and to repeat aphorisms such as, “A gram is better than a damn.”  In other words, don’t get mad, get mellow.  Our governments aren’t pushing all drugs, just marijuana.  The government is against opioids, and is trying to incarcerate drug manufacturers and doctors for making and prescribing them, but it’s pushing marijuana.  At the risk of sounding cynical, maybe that’s because there’s big money for the government in marijuana.  When they legalize it, as about half our States have done, they get to raise revenue from taxing the weed.  No revenue from opioids, so they’re bad.  Here in New Jersey, we have medical marijuana, and are attempting to legalize recreational marijuana.  Although our Legislature failed to pass that measure, its going on the ballot in 2020.  We’re actually going to be asked to amend our Constitution to permit marijuana use.  I didn’t know there was an anti-pot provision in our 1947 Constitution.  But picture that.  The citizens of New Jersey will be asked to amend the Constitution to permit the population to legally render itself stoned and stupid.  Our Founding Fathers would be so proud! But who cares, we can tax pot at $42 an ounce, and business is business.  I recently attended a legal education class on marijuana legalization.  The panel was comprised of lawyers from firms that stand to make a lot of money representing the cannabis industry, and assorted progressive hopheads, who’d just like to get stoned.  At the class, they complained that the medical marijuana dispensaries sell pot at prices $100 an ounce more than the dealers on the street.  They suggested that adding more dispensaries would promote competition and reduce prices.  That was the first time I ever heard a progressive imbecile suggest that capitalism might be a good thing.  It’s odd that the same government that prohibits and demonizes the use of tobacco, is now promoting the smoking of pot.  Both practices involve smoking.  Three or four marijuana joints a day can produce the same risk of bronchitis or emphysema as twenty or more tobacco cigarettes. Marijuana smoke is also filled with many of the same chemicals as tobacco smoke, including ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and formaldehyde; chemicals known to cause cancer.  Marijuana use kills brain cells and damages the thalamus, the part of the brain that’s involved in consciousness, long-term memory and information processing.  Long-term marijuana use may reduce blood flow to a part of the brain that increases the susceptibility for Alzheimer’s disease.  If you’re thinking its crazy to use marijuana to treat glaucoma, only to expose users to cancer, brain damage and Alzheimer’s disease, so am I.  But it’s even more insidious than that.  A nation of pot users provides the State with a sedated, compliant, and apathetic population.  If you’re not paying attention and aren’t interested in anything other than finding your next joint of Maui-Wowie, then the government can get away with just about anything.  Plus, having all of us lying around stoned is good for the economy.  Think of what the marijuana munchies will do for the snack food industry.  GrubHub would have to hire thousands of new drivers just to deliver pizzas and donuts to potheads.  It would be tough to find enough drivers who weren’t too high to drive, though.  Marijuana legalization will make it easier for the government to oppress us.  Maybe I’m just too suspicious of the government’s motives when it comes to pot.  Then again, we’re now learning that the Deep State has been, and is still, attempting to reverse a presidential election just to remain in power.  A stoned population would make that sort of thing a lot easier.  Nah!  Just fire up another doobie.   Don’t worry, be happy.  The government prefers you that way.