Pubdate: Tue, 04 Nov 2003
Source: Daily O'Collegian (OK Edu)
Copyright: 2003 Oklahoma State University
Contact:  http://www.ocolly.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1275
Author: Kyle Wofford, Opinion Writer

BEARS AND WEED: NEW IMPORTS FROM CANADA?

Cracked Insight

Here is another freakishly bizarre occurrance has happened and everyone 
most definitely needs to hear about. Apparently, there was an attempt to 
smuggle 166 pounds of marijuana into the states last January.

That isn't where the bizarre part of the story comes into play though.

Along with his precious illegal cargo, Duane Christopher Bradley, the 
perpetrator who is now serving a three-year sentence in prison, was 
bringing two black bears into the states with him as well. These were not 
just any black bears, folks. It just so turns out that they were ballooned 
to over a hundred pounds higher than their normal weight because they had 
been fed whole turkeys as meals.

Both bears, named Corky and Pumpkin, now reside in an animal sanctuary in 
San Antonio, where they have been nursed back to a healthy body weight. 
Their teeth and claws, which had been broken, have been treated as well.

What caught my attention about this story, however, was not how Bradley 
claimed to be taking the bears to Hollywood for a movie or the fact that he 
was trying to get marijuana into the country illegally.

What really drew me in was the fact that, despite his crimes, what got the 
most attention in the press were the bears, not the criminal's wrongdoings 
or ensuing trial. It almost seemed as if the fact that he was smuggling 
drugs was considered a moot point in the story.

If the American media and the people of our country seem to care so little 
about the entrance of marijuana into our country, why then, I must ask, is 
it still illegal? I know the argument has been had over and over and must 
seem tired by now to nearly everyone who hears it. But how can something 
like that be ignored?

The substance's advocates make claims that the immediate effects of it are 
less than that of alcohol and the harmful effects of its use are less than 
that of tobacco. If these notions are true, then is it not a feasible 
argument that the government continues to keep marijuana's use illegal for 
the reason that it is profitable? I have no idea how many people are given 
tickets and arrested each year for possession of marijuana or use of 
marijuana but I will make up a scenario.

Let's say that there are 10,000 people arrested every year for possession 
of marijuana - I'm sure the number is higher than that but we'll go with 
it. If they are each given a ticket as low as $100, which I'm sure is an 
understatement, $1,000,000 has already been raised. With that kind of 
money, the government could employ at least nine more useless officials. In 
fact, they are probably using the money to fund a position that is solely 
responsible for enforcing anti-marijuana laws in the United States.

Now, I'm not saying that smoking weed is a good thing and that everyone 
should go out and start doing it immediately. I don't smoke pot and don't 
plan on starting.

Nevertheless, isn't it interesting that cigarettes continue to remain legal 
in this situation? I wonder if that has anything to do with tobacco having 
a gigantic tax rate on it?

I couldn't believe the government would allow something like that to keep 
being used just because it was profitable. Could any of you?

This has to be put down as one of those all-or-nothing situations that I 
mentioned in the Roy Horn column. Either marijuana should be as legal as 
alcohol and tobacco, or we should ban all three together and thrust 
ourselves into a new age of prohibition.That's just the way I see things.
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