Portland, Oregon, State Rep. Mitch Greenlick sponsored a bill that would make cigarettes a Schedule III drug and thus illegal to possess or distribute without a prescription under penalty of a $6000 fine or a year in prison.  This is, of course, just another attack on smokers by some political parasite who wants to get his name in the headlines.  Smokers are like strippers, prostitutes, and gamblers in the sense that no one is likely to come to their defense if they are attacked by self-serving public figures in the government and news media.  If you recall, that used to be the case with gays and blacks as well.

I first heard this story on a local news broadcast.  One of the WHNT-TV morning news anchors quickly chimed in that she thought the law sounded like a good idea.  Because, you know, there ain’t no such thing as too many ways to throw people you don’t like in prison.  This is true, folks.  No one is more willing to piss away your liberty and dictate how you should live than folks in your own community.  WHNT is an ardent supporter of the failed drug war, encouraging people to become  anonymous informants through a program called See Meth, Stop Meth.  It is this kind of dedication to locking people up that has placed “The Land of the Free” in the top spot worldwide when it comes to imprisoning its citizens.  Keep up the good work, WHNT!