The state of Virginia will let Virginians buy pot – recreationally now – which will serve the interests of the state once again. The common denominator is that whatever the state does, it does in its own interests.

The interests of the people are always incidental.

Virginia previously "decriminalized" small-scale possession and use of pot. The word is bracketed within air fingers quote marks to mark the state's habitual and characteristic creation of "crimes,"  which very much serves the interests of the state. Most people are not criminals in the sense that most people aren't thieves, don't physically assault or threaten to assault other people. Such crimes are relatively uncommon, which is why the state creates more "crimes." When everyone is a "criminal" – or at least, an "offender" of some sort – then the state has a ready excuse to go after anyone, any time it likes. The arbitrary and capricious nature of this is obvious yet many do not see it. As a young man, I was arrested for the "crime" – as it was back then – of growing pot plants. Today, it is legal to grow pot plants and soon it will be legal for people in Virginia to buy it, too.

Without a "prescription," even.

In Virginia – right now – you can dial-a-quack (literally) and obtain a "prescription" that says you have a "medical condition" that pot will ease. You tell the phone quack all about your ache and pains; how you have trouble getting to sleep at night. The quack agrees that you need pot and texts you a "prescription" that grants entre into what are styled "dispensaries," where you get to fill your own "prescription." Meaning you get to peruse through a menu of available types of pot – the actual plant material or its distilled essence in liquid/vape form as well as "edible" form. Interestingly, there is no dosage specification or limit. It's all another kabuki opera performance. We pretend to be patients who are there to alleviate/treat our symptoms – and they pretend to be medical people.

Well, soon it will not be necessary to dial-a-quack and get a "prescription" for pot and visit a "dispensary." This week, the state issued a new law granting permission for Virginians to buy pot without the kabuki at 350 state-approved pot shops, which are probably going to be run by the state in the manner of the liquor (ABC) shops the state controls. You'll probably have to show ID and of course it won't be just for show. They will likely scan your ID, so that the state knows not just that it's you but that you just bought pot. (This is no small thing; federal law prohibits users of illegal drugs to purchase firearms and – at the federal level – pot is still an illegal "drug.")