When I was in high school, Kokomo had one head shop. At least, Kokomo had one head shop of which I was aware. The little store was on Sycamore next to where the Sipe Theater once had stood. At least one parking space was occupied during hours when the store was open. Word had it that the Kokomo Police Department and the Howard County Sheriff coordinated in surveillance of the store. They took photographs and wrote down names and license plate numbers of the store’s customers. Presumably they thought the customers’ purchases of rolling papers, pipes and bongs were not for the novelty purposes espoused by the card under the glass counter.
   Such police surveillance makes little sense. Probable cause would be difficult to argue from someone merely walking into a store legally open and operating. Then again, there was a paranoia instilled by Kokomo. Also, that was about the time President Richard M. Nixon declared the War on Drugs. That “war” was not declared consistent with Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Also, in case you missed the headlines, the United States government lost the War on Drugs. Our Federal and State governments have squandered billions of dollars, and tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of lives have been screwed up by prosecutions and convictions for drug offenses. And, worst of all, the Constitution and our Bill of Rights have been trashed in the name of “Just Say No!”
   We were doomed to repeat the lessons of history our political leaders refused to learn. Prohibition of alcohol, from 1919 to 1933 (1) gave a great boost to organized crime and (2) far from stopping consumption of alcohol, made it a national sport—or at least H.L. Mencken described it as such.
   Washington and Colorado have legalized pot for personal use. Other states have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. With pot legalized in so many places in this country, organized crime has taken a hit in Mexico that all those guns and police could not deliver. Prices have dropped and so the cartels have moved on to other illicit markets.
   I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1994. I have read articles in scholarly journals about the positive effects marijuana has for people who have MS. Amongst other qualities, marijuana—pot, weed, reefer, Mary Jane; okay, enough of the Sergeant Joe Friday—is an anti-inflammatory. I would like to be able to use it to treat my MS.
   Today’s Show will stream live from The Magic Bus, a store on Broad Ripple Avenue that carries various items that are similar to those carried by the old head shop in Kokomo. The Magic Bus also sells t-shirts and frisbees.
   Our guests will include Bill Levin, Libertarian Party candidate for Indiana House of Representatives. The Magic Bus also carries a Bill Levin action figure—or maybe it would best be described as a bobble head—amongst other products. Bill has worked to get marijuana legalized in Indiana.
   Matt Stone has lined up another candidate as a guest, but as I write this blog, I do not have the information on that candidate.  For that ignorance, I apologize.
   Kimann Schultz will provide Fashion News and Muse.
   So join us at 11 am until 1 pm for Civil Discourse Now.