Nu York, New York: Kosher pot coming to New York?

By ELLEN LEVITT
Sometimes one's viewpoints on a topic are very mixed. An example of such a topic for me, and which has been thrust into the limelight, is legalized marijuana and its effects on American society. I admit that I'm split on this. I recognize the value medicinal marijuana use has for some people, due to their sicknesses and chronic pain. I realize that if governments decriminalize possession and use of small amounts of marijuana, then our penal system will be better able to focus on hardened criminals.
But I have also seen how recreational use of pot can reduce a person's academic abilities, make him or her a danger behind the wheel of a car, and can be a gateway drug to harder substances. I am also anti-smoking in general because I dislike cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. They stink, they damage the lungs of people who are around the smokers, and so on. Please do not give me that argument about how great and natural weed is, as if it is a miracle worker par excellence. Oy vey.
Still, there is a part of me that giggles at stoner jokes, guffaws at stories about politicians who are outed for having smoked pot before they became holier than thou conservatives, and realizes that there are more frightening problems in the world today.
So, why is pot use on my mind? For a few reasons! First, New York State, my home, has approved the use of medicinal marijuana. Two, there is a growing number of states in the US that are allowing recreational use of pot. And their governments collect much-needed tax revenue from this business. Three, there is a burgeoning discussion of kosher pot. Kosher marijuana for medicinal means, for baked goods, and the debates of whether this is good or bad for our people. And then I read an article about ethically grown weed: should we as Jews strive to use that, if we do take a toke?
I cracked some jokes the other day about the kashrut of marijuana: hey, for Pesach we could have "Pot-zah." What happens if someone is so stoned that they forget where they hid the Afikomen? Will marijuana additives help improve the taste of canned macaroons?
But seriously, folks, I have two adolescent daughters. I know that in their Health classes at school, they will hear their teachers talk about the problems of smoking pot. I am concerned that some of their peers may try and enjoy smoking weed, and it may become more readily available, and even kosher. This is kind of funny, but also kind of frightening. It is not clear cut. I look at this as a parent, as a tax payer, as an observer of society at large.