Purple Haze

Michigan’s political character is a bit hard to define.  It’s one of those purple states…..neither blue nor red.  Its state legislature and highest court remain more red than blue, but those the voters send to Washington are more often blue than red.

This middle-of-America and middle-of-the-road state has allowed the use of marijuana for medical purposes for a decade.  And on the 6th of November, 56 percent of voters took the big step to approve a proposal to legalize “recreational” use of pot by adults.

This caused me to reflect upon the times I’ve spent in the Northern European city of Amsterdam and the time I’ve spent with Russell Shorto’s book “Amsterdam — A History of the World’s Most Liberal City.”  It really isn’t.

Last January in Amsterdam I was experiencing a sinus headache and had need for a nasal decongestant like Sudafed, which tends to provide me prompt relief.  I searched at several convenience stores and pharmacies without success before finally inquiring where I might find the medicine I knew I needed.  I was told that, in Holland, the key ingredient in the most effective products — phenylephrine — is a controlled substance that could not be purchased without a doctor’s order and could only be sold in specific and regulated locations.

This was a surprising, label-bending discovery.  Here I was in Amsterdam, where a person could buy, sell and smoke on the street what was illegal in most of America…..where I would walk through a haze of marijuana smoke on many streets…..but I could not purchase what in most states of the USA is a common over-the-counter remedy for a head cold.

So it appears to me that “liberal” is a squishy label.  As are moderate and conservative.  As are middle-America, middle-of-the-road, middle-class and all the other boxes we get placed in.  Labels don’t help, any more than laws regarding cannabis, to define or understand a culture, a city, a candidate or a soccer mom.

JER