If you think the War on Drugs has been a huge success, then Oregon state representative Mitch Greenlick has a bill you’ll love. Greenlick wants to classify cigarettes as a Schedule III “controlled substance” in Oregon, on the same level as ketamine and anabolic steroids, and force smokers to get a prescription to buy them:
If you’re a regular smoker, you may want to keep an eye on a new bill in the Oregon Legislature.
Rep. Mitch Greenlick, from Portland, is sponsoring a bill that makes cigarettes a Schedule III controlled substance, meaning it would be illegal to possess or distribute cigarettes without a doctor’s prescription.
Under the proposal, offenders would face maximum punishments of one year in prison, a $6,250 fine or both.
If you get caught smoking without a prescription, you’d have to pay a fine of up to $6,200 and/or serve a year in jail. For smoking a cigarette without your doctor’s permission. What’s the fine for smoking pot, I wonder, in Oregon? I’m pretty sure it’s not $6200 and a year in the hoosegow. What’s next — a doctor’s note for eating burgers? Maybe I shouldn’t give them any ideas.
As a former cigarette smoker and someone who enjoys a cigar three or four times a year, I’m well aware of the health issues linked to smoking. We have had (and are having) issues with those in my family right now. But throwing smokers in jail is not the answer, nor classifying nicotine as a drug on the same level as horse tranquilizers and anabolic steroids.
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