| Compton Mayor Aja Brown. |
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, the city of Compton, CA gained an infamous reputation across mainstream America as a drug-addled wasteland, ruled by gangs and racked by unthinkable violence.
Fueled at the time by accounts from gangster rap titles and Hollywood portrayals of the hardened region of South Central Los Angeles, today Compton is much less violent, but just as vulnerable, running a $40-million deficit as it struggles to try to avoid all out bankruptcy. It’s not hard to see that a change of direction is needed.
The city’s mayor from 1993 to 2001 was a man named Omar Bradley. Bradley, now 55, was known in the 90’s as the “Gangster Mayor” and the “King of Compton”. His abrasive attitude earned him some impressive nicknames, but also earned him actual jail time after he left office, stemming from a conviction on public corruption charges.
So yeah, he used some city credit cards for personal expenses. So yeah, he did time for it. Apparently, neither of those facts disqualifies a citizen from re-running for mayor, and so that’s just what Omar Bradley did earlier this year. So much for change.
Opposing Bradley was a 31-year-old former urban planner and USC alumna by the name of Aja Brown. A relative newcomer to the leadership side of the political stage, Brown represented a changing of the guard in the eyes of voters. And come time for the special election held in June, she nearly doubled the vote count of Bradley on her way to becoming just the second female mayor in the city’s history, and the youngest African American to ever hold the post.
“I believe the people of Compton are ready for change,” Brown told supporters after her victory. “They’ve spoken. Their voice has clearly been heard that they don’t want to go backward. They want to go forward.”
| City of Compton. |
Facing a brutal fiscal deficit, as mentioned above, and taking over such a prominent city just as full marijuana legalization proposals begin to take form for the next California statewide election, naturally Compton’s hip new mayor has been asked for her take on medical marijuana and full legalization, and if it may be able to provide that way forward. Unfortunately, her response has been anything but cannabis-friendly.
Interviewed earlier this month on HuffPost Live, Mayor Brown was adamant in her stance that marijuana legalization, on any level, is bad for society. She bluntly stated that she was essentially elected on the back of the City Attorney’s promises to shutter any and all storefront medical marijuana dispensaries within Compton city limits.
But most disturbing is her apparent lack of knowledge when she callously tosses in that more and more teens are becoming “addicted” to marijuana, and that its effect on them both socially and educationally is “truly detrimental”. “I’m pro-kids,” she says with a smile, “and I’m moving forward.”
Mayor Brown, like too many prohibitionists, fails to see the forest for the trees. Yes, many studies are showing teen marijuana use to be on the rise. And yes, that brings with it very real consequences in regard to their judgment, their decision making, and potentially their overall health.
Such consequences include: Teen alcohol and tobacco use – down.
Now you can add to that list: Teen synthetic drug use – down.
In 2012, 11% of High School seniors admitted to using products like bath salts, Spice, or K2.
In a report released Wednesday by the National Institutes of Health that number thankfully dropped sharply to 8%. That, Mayor Brown, is a net gain for society, a way forward.
The kids that she is surely genuinely concerned about are savvy enough to see through the tired and ineffective Reefer Madness tactics being regurgitated by Mayor Brown. Lying about weed is potentially a gateway, if you will, to much more harmful behavior. Taking cover behind “the kids” is an age-old political tactic, nothing new in a city desperate for something new.