Iowa Republican Lawmaker Falsely Claims Republican Caucuses Aren’t Discussing Marijuana; “Issue Put To Bed” in Iowa

Read this article: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/04/08/u-s-house-votes-to-legalize-marijuana-but-iowa-lawmakers-remain-strongly-opposed/

In the above article Iowa Republican Steve Holt, a lawmaker, says that lawmakers in Iowa have heard no discussion from the Republican caucuses. Yet as covered here on WeedPress, Iowa Republicans have already voted on, and will vote on again shortly at the Polk County Third District Caucuses, medical marijuana. See this article: https://weedpress.wordpress.com/2022/03/13/iowa-republicans-unanimously-vote-to-support-medical-marijuana-at-march-12th-convention/

Here are my thoughts, having been in Iowa as an advocate for over 13 years now publicly.

1. Iowa Republicans pretend marijuana users and advocates don’t exist.

2. Iowa marijuana users don’t join the Republican party to discuss marijuana legalization. When they do, they complain people in the party don’t like marijuana. This is how the Wisconsin and South Dakota Republican parties also operate — anyone trying to join the party as a marijuana user is shunned and pretended to not exist (see item 1) and never gets anywhere. Regardless though, the problem is easily identifiable:

3. By marijuana advocates not joining the Republican party, they complain it won’t change, but don’t even try to change it the only way possible — by joining and running for public positions in the party. It’s easy to do so, but Iowa marijuana advocates don’t ever plan shit — they just do like these ladies from Cedar Rapids did, throw a tissy fit with no planning and show up to half-ass the issue by doing something stupid like staging a “sit-in” or “sleep-in” at a government building in Iowa with what, 20 people… then laughing about it and saying “we were just desperate and not trying hard.”

If sleeping on the Capitol steps got issues changed people would have done that already. I’ve never heard of these women from Cedar Rapids, and I don’t expect they will do real activism like I have in Iowa — that is to say, joining the parties, and advancing the marijuana issue at meetings.

So, the Republican party of Iowa is correct. It seems to them the issue is dead, because marijuana advocates aren’t patient, or willing to work the political process, but they are more than willing to dramatically complain and cry like babies that even in spite of nobody doing the work to advance the issue, the issue is dead. Marijuana advocates involved in Iowa do not deserve to be talked nicely about.

I cannot think of a single marijuana advocate in the state of Iowa to talk nicely about, and I really want to, but every single one has not even pretended to try anymore. That’s unique to the Midwest marijuana movement. If nobody is trying in Iowa, somebody new could easily step in and take the lead. MedPharm Iowa is trying, to their credit, but they’re too nice, and unwilling to challenge the status quo. So, nobody is doing a good job but MedPharm, but MedPharm isn’t persuading lawmakers, as evidenced by the recent statements by Iowa lawmakers.

Liberties for drug users are not prized in Iowa, where they treat those who use drugs like criminals when the real criminals are the ones who support laws that make drug users criminals. How ironic.