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\nRUSH: You know what? Hey, dude? Hang on. I just discovered that I misread the clock. I\u2019ve only got a minute. Can you hang on through the break? I thought I had more time than I have in this segment.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Here\u2019s Matt in Jacksonville, Florida. Hi, Matt. Glad you waited. You\u2019re next on the EIB Network. Hello.<\/p>\n
CALLER: Hey, Rush?<\/p>\n
RUSH: Hey!<\/p>\n
CALLER: Hey, how you doing, man? Been listening to you since I was 5, 6 years old, you know, with my daddy. (laughing) Yeah. I\u2019m beyond myself right now to be able to call you. It\u2019s an honor, sir. I got giddy when I heard Snerdley\u2019s voice, so what I\u2019m want to bring up is — and it goes deeper, and I want you to understand that this issue goes deeper than I\u2019m gonna speak on than just the surface of, “Oh, it\u2019s medical marijuana, and that\u2019s the issue.” Why is it…? Because after a lot of reflection, I consider myself — and I hate labels, but I\u2019ve determined two labels for myself —<\/p>\n
\nRUSH: You know what? Hey, dude? Hang on. I just discovered that I misread the clock. I\u2019ve only got a minute. Can you hang on through the break? I thought I had more time than I have in this segment.<\/p>\n
CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Can you hang on, dude? Okay, cool. Don\u2019t go away because we\u2019ll be back. We\u2019re talking marijuana here, I think.<\/p>\n
BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n
RUSH: Okay, back to Matt in Jacksonville. You\u2019re talking about medical marijuana. You want to know why it is a liberal issue. You want to know why there\u2019s politics attached to it at all? Is that your question?<\/p>\n
CALLER: Well, my thing is, Rush, as I said, I\u2019m a constitutional Libertarian. It took a lot of reflection and it took a lot for me to even give myself any kind of label. Christian, constitutional Libertarian.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Right.<\/p>\n
CALLER: I\u2019m a Millennial. I\u2019m 26 years old. I watch Fox News all the time. Every time it\u2019s an issue about social issues it\u2019s like, you know, the conservatives, all these talking heads, “Oh, medical marijuana,” why is it such an issue? It\u2019s more than just medical marijuana. It\u2019s about liberty. It\u2019s about liberty to do what I want to do, as long as I don\u2019t affect anybody else. It can be controlled, you know, 18 years old, if you\u2019re caught with it before 18, then, you know, all that, just like cigarettes, 18 years old you make your own decision.<\/p>\n
RUSH: I\u2019m gonna answer your question for you. In the first place Matt, learn something, please. Everything is political to political people.<\/p>\n
CALLER: But why?<\/p>\n
RUSH: Everything is. The reason medical marijuana is — medical marijuana is seen as simply a ruse to be able to get marijuana, period. Now, if you\u2019ll notice, nobody ever mentions how having marijuana on the ballot in a lot of states in 2012 helped drive the Millennial turnout, but it did. Having medical marijuana or marijuana, period, on the ballot in 2012 really ratcheted up the turnout of people your age. To people in politics, that\u2019s politics. There\u2019s a political reason why you showed up. Therefore there is a political appeal they think will resonate with you. Now, to you, if you\u2019re being honest, you just want the freedom and liberty. If you need some marijuana for a medical reason, or whatever, you should be able to get it. It\u2019s your life, it\u2019s your body, you\u2019re not hurting anybody.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/RushFreedom.jpg\")
\nCALLER: Exactly. I\u2019m free. I\u2019m a free citizen. What I put in my body — I don\u2019t — okay, drug dealers dealing to kids, yeah, that\u2019s bad. But when you get rid of the criminal element and it\u2019s been proven, when you get rid of the criminal element, it\u2019s not a big issue. It\u2019s not like, “Oh, my God, I\u2019m doing something bad.” No, it becomes — you know how many people older than me, and I\u2019m 26 speaking as, look, I don\u2019t do it all the time; when I do, it\u2019s for a reason, but I can go to bed every night without it. My point is, it\u2019s my choice whether I do it. But keep in mind, this goes beyond just medical marijuana. It\u2019s the biggest issue right now —<\/p>\n
RUSH: Okay, I understand. What about if you liked heroin instead of marijuana, would you have the same attitude about it?<\/p>\n
CALLER: That becomes debate, and there\u2019s debate. I don\u2019t agree with it, but I believe someone should be at liberty to make their own choice.<\/p>\n
RUSH: And that\u2019s why you\u2019re a Libertarian?<\/p>\n
CALLER: Liberty is to make your own choice without government intervention.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Right. I understand that. It\u2019s an age-old argument, and it often delves into the role of public morality. The most common refute or refutation to your argument would be, “But it\u2019s not just affecting you, Matt. By your using this drug, it\u2019s affecting your employer, if you have one, because it\u2019s gonna impact your performance.” This is what they say. It\u2019s gonna impact your family. You don\u2019t do anything in a vacuum. Nobody does. And whereas you may think it\u2019s a totally personal choice that has no effect on anybody else, public morality says otherwise.<\/p>\n
But regardless, whether that is something you believe or not, if government realizes that there\u2019s money in it via regulation, then they\u2019ll turn it as political as necessary to get the money out of it. And if they see that the primary constituency group that wants this is young people, then, bammo, they\u2019re gonna really politicize that. They\u2019re gonna turn it into an issue to make you a voter. If they determine that\u2019s all you care about, then there\u2019s gonna be a political party that comes along to make you think that\u2019s all they care about, you getting your marijuana, and they\u2019ll promise you, and they\u2019ll do whatever they can to get you to turn out and vote.<\/p>\n
Everything becomes political in that regard. In this country, the image of a marijuana smoker is liberal Democrat, not constitutional Libertarian. It\u2019s liberal Democrat, radical activist. This is the image that\u2019s associated with it. Most people interested in marijuana are assumed to be voters for Democrats.<\/p>\n
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“Voters in Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, DC, will decide Tuesday whether to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana. But any new pot shops that voters approve may not be able to survive a drug war-era tax code that already threatens many businesses in Colorado and Washington state. Under this tax code the federal government stands to make more money from the sale of marijuana than those legally selling it. And that could be enough to shut down many shops.”<\/p>\n