The smoke and haze you see over the state of Maryland may not be from the forest fires in Canada. So-called “recreational marijuana” became legal in Maryland on Saturday. This is occurring under what Democrats are calling “another Obama”—a black advocate of marijuana legalization by the name of Wes Moore, the new Maryland governor and a former marijuana company executive.

On July 1, Maryland became the 25th state or U.S. territory to legalize marijuana.

Moore is such a prominent figure in the Democratic Party that he is raising money for other Democrats, such as Jon Tester, the Democratic senator from Montana. This fundraising prowess means that Moore, not Michelle Obama, may be standing by to replace Joe Biden in 2024.

Whatever happens, Moore is clearly being groomed for the national stage.

DeForest Rathbone, Chairman of the Maryland-based National Institute of Citizen Anti-drug Policy (NICAP), predicts the future: “To think that every adult stoner in Maryland will now be able to possess about 100 joints of unlimited strength pot without fear of arrest should strike terror in the hearts of all public officials who are responsible of public health and safety—as parents may hold them personally responsible for any drug-related harm to their loved ones.”

Looking at what legalization has accomplished in such states as Colorado, Rathbone predicts “increasing crime, addiction, suicides, overdose deaths, traffic fatalities, carjackings, vicious assaults, shootings, homelessness, and terror within schools, stores, communities, and on public transportation.”

Cases involving marijuana and violence are common. Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland Florida mass shooter who pleaded guilty to murdering 17 people in 2018, told police about his extensive marijuana use and the “demons” in his mind.

In Maine, a young man who was kicked out of his grandmother’s house because he wouldn’t stop smoking dope randomly killed a couple in front of their two little kids. The pothead, described in the media as an “aspiring rap artist,” was a career criminal with arrests going back to 2018 and convictions for assault, criminal threatening and terrorizing.

“Maine’s own survey indicates that 41% of Maine adults use marijuana and half of those use daily, which would make that number about 200,000,” out of a state population of 1.1 million adults, reports David Packhem, Executive Director of Students Empowered to End Dependency.

On May 24, 2022, Salvador Ramos fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers and wounded seventeen others at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Earlier that day, the perpetrator shot his grandmother in the face, severely wounding her. He said he hated his mother and grandmother, who restricted his marijuana use.

President Trump spoke at a meeting of the National Rifle Association and stated that marijuana could be a root cause of much of the gun violence in the United States and that genetically engineered or high potency marijuana could be a cause of psychotic breaks.

In Maryland, in anticipation of legalization, experts and educators are making a prediction that more young people will get hooked on the drug.

The marijuana industry remains illegal at the federal level and it has become a national security issue, arising out of concern that foreigners such as Putin ally Roman Abramovich bankrolled America’s largest marijuana company, Curaleaf.

In a case so big that the Department of Justice was forced to respond, two Chinese nationals were charged with operating a “large scale marijuana grow operation.”

For his part, Moore has ties to Green Thumb Industries, one of the largest cannabis companies in the world. He joined Green Thumb’s board of directors in 2018 and served on the audit and compensation committee until March 11, 2022.

Calling Moore “a compelling choice” for governor in Maryland, the Washington Post endorsed him, saying he “staked out the aspirational high ground as a liberal intent on tackling high crime, unaffordable housing, child poverty, and the racial wealth and opportunity gaps.”

The paper ignored his views on expanding the ranks of potheads.

Since Moore has the power to appoint members of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, which regulates the state’s cannabis industry, his financial ties to the marijuana industry represent a potential conflict of interest.

The local NBC station reported that a blind trust for his assets includes nearly $1.2 million in shares of stock in a cannabis company – or about 46% of his assets outlined in the trust. The outlet explained, “The governor's $1.17 million worth of stock in Green Thumb Industries, which does business in Maryland, is by far the most eye-catching in the portfolio.”

Eye-catching indeed. The marijuana money is listed in his financial form as a “health care” stock.

NBC reported, “Moore, a Democrat who worked as an investment banker, declared before he was elected that he would create the blind trust swiftly and transparently to avoid potential conflicts of interest while in office. The trust legally removes him from controlling the assets while he is governor.”

This sounds like he is full of honesty and integrity.

But the public knows the marijuana industry made him rich.

Green Thumb founder and Chief Executive Officer Ben Kovler asserted that Moore had made “many contributions to Green Thumb,” including providing an “invaluable perspective and leadership,” as well as “his dedication to our mission and his dedication to equity in the industry and social justice.”

Whatever that means, it amounts to $1.17 million. The Washington Post mentioned this figure, raising no questions about how he “earned” it.

Moving forward, Moore pledges to “prioritize equitable access to this emerging industry,” including future rounds of funding to Historically Black Colleges and Universities for “cannabis-related programs.”

Some observers say marijuana has become the Soma of the “Brave New World,” in order to keep the people distracted and from using critical thinking to solve the real problems facing our country.

Marijuana “is damaging the undeveloped brains of our youth,” notes Packhem, and he quotes Dr. Liza Little, a clinical psychologist and Director of Counseling Services at the University of Southern Maine, as saying, “we are seeing a tsunami of students in mental health crisis ranging from anxiety and depression to suicidal ideation and an increase in cannabis use. One of the other things we’re seeing over the last two years is this smaller group of students who are showing signs of what we call cannabis induced psychosis.”

Yet, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even suggested marijuana was a medical response to COVID-19, saying, “This is a therapy that has proven successful...”.

Communists and terrorists see it differently. Weather Underground member Bernardine Dohrn once said, “We fight in many ways. Dope is one of our weapons. The laws against marijuana mean that millions of us are outlaws long before we actually split. Guns and grass are united in the youth underground.”

Now, in Maryland as well, the stoners can be openly organized into an army that can serve political purposes and elect more people like Wes Moore to office.

*Cliff Kincaid is president of America’s Survival, Inc. www.uasurvival.org