Prohibition has no place in a free country, Mr. President. End it, sir.

Cannabis prohibition, like alcohol prohibition before it, is being dismantled state by state, by the will of the people. Americans who think that’s a bad thing either have a vested interest in the way things are, or they haven’t done the research. Because behind the smoked party drug image so brilliantly propagandized for nearly a century lays a most convenient truth, an amazing secret hidden for generations.

Cannabis is a non-toxic, not physically addictive ancient medicinal flower that is (when used properly, of course) totally safe, even for children and pets. As tincture and oil, cannabis is proving effective for some of the most common ailments of these frenzied times; alcohol and pill abuse, insomnia, stress, migraines, depression, fibromyalgia, MS, ADHD, PMS, PTSD, late-night barking…

Naysayers search US patent 6,630,507; Cannabinoids as Antioxidants and Neuroprotectants, filed back in 2003 by none other than Health and Human Services, the same agency that continues to insist that marijuana is bad, all bad. And these are the people We the People are taking orders from? Wake up Americans! Read the declaration the founding fathers risked their lives to compose. It says we have the right as free people to decide what’s best for our bodies, our families and our lives.

The inevitability of re-legalization has many fearing the worst; that reefer madness will rip through neighborhoods, claim the sanity of our children and spike healthcare costs. Hand-wringers need only look to capacity-crowd cannafests for proof of weed’s safety in numbers across a wide demographic.

Since their rise in the sixties marijuana freedom gatherings have always attracted families and people of all ages, all races, and all political and religious persuasions. They mass together—sometimes in the rain—to learn, share, and get stoned a lot, because that’s the point.  As a long-term population study, cannabis-only festivals provide clear evidence that the norm really is a positive vibe of peace, love and understanding.

The exciting news for Middle Americans struggling to make ends meet is that cannabis freedom comes with its own enterprise frontier—one that provides jobs and opportunities at every step in the delivery chain. Demand for secure, safe and legal indoor grow ops, for example, is creating a lucrative new specialty field for plumbers, electricians, carpenters, air control experts and security system technicians. As the frontier expands there’ll be good jobs for professionals in finance, accounting, administration, marketing, production, and education.

Washington, of course, denies such a frontier even exists, while at the same time using every agency in the fold to disrupt, discredit and hold back the cannabis trades; medical, recreational and hemp, that farm-country marvel with a bright future in plastics, building materials, food products, paper, textiles, energy and fine lubricants. Despite economic sanctions such as harsh tax rules and a banking embargo, the budding cannabis industry is doing well, and generating solid revenues in states that restore those liberties.

When the Epilepsy Foundation declared last year that access to cannabis should not be determined by one’s zip code they spoke for all patients and families caring for patients. The right to choose and responsibly use the full bounty of nature’s gifts is, in Christian terms, a God-given, human right (Genesis 1:29). Americans gave up that right in service to the industrial revolution, and very soon they’re going to wake up and want it back.

Prohibition has no place in a free country, Mr. President. End it, sir. If you don’t, your successor will surely have to.