GREENSCAPE: Inside Brian's World

There are conflicting views on the legalisation of marijuana. Marijuana is a contradiction in itself. Is neither good or bad, so they say. It gives you high and push you even lower. Cannabis supporters lobbied for its decriminalisation, citing benefits (especially the medicinal ones) as their main justification. On the other hand, government and anti-marijuana enthusiasts were at the forefront of marijuana eradication. 

The case 'Brian’s Franchise' talked about this. Set in the1980s, this non-fiction studies the drug war in the United States (US), the extensive effort of the US Government to eradicate the growing marijuana industry, the constant struggle between government and marijuana farmers, and Brian, a well-off American in his twenties, and an owner of a large franchise chain of small indoor farms specializing in growing marijuana in the US. Equipped with expertise in breeding and raising marijuana plants indoors, he dropped out from college in 1989 and started his own chain of small indoor marijuana gardens in rented houses in and around Washington DC where he sells his plants and expertise to local farmers, who in turn, gave him a percentage of proceeds as his profit.  With the emergence of a more extensive efforts by the US Government to completely destroy the marijuana industry in 1989, Brian moved to Amsterdam where he continued his business and learned to innovate indoor marijuana gardening. It was modernization at its finest.

So, what should Brian do? What should we suggest he should do? 

Brian has the right to pursue his interest. John Locke will tell us that human beings have the natural right for freedom and property. Hence, Brian can consider continuimg his marijuana business. Everything is up to him. Do as what he pleases to do. On the other hand, Adam Smith and his "invisible hand" would show that in any business case, utilitarianism is always the name of the game. Common good, the benefit for all, the consumers, are industries' masters. Or we can look at it this way. What would Karl Marx do? Marxism will prescribe that capitalism is biased and cruel and that the natural order things must be done through government intervention. 

So, tell me, what is the right thing to do? What philosophical root should we let influence us? Will there be an absolute answer to this? The answer is none.

Ingrained in it is an obvious answer, that is, it must be based on ethics, like the necessity for government intervention to control the things that cannot be put solely in the hands of private individuals, like slavery and child labor. Moreover, as we pass this issue on different ethical frameworks, ethics will dictate that in this case, marijuana, even with its benefits, is still marijuana and is considered illegal in most parts of the world. Thus, promoting its cultivation can be considered unethical. Ethics also taught us that the real essence of producing goods is to produce something that is really good. And lastly, God has given us gifts and all the skills and talents, and therefore, it is our duty to give back by producing something out of it that will positively impact the society.