Pubdate: Thu, 17 Mar 2005
Source: Reno News & Review (NV)
Copyright: 2005, Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/issues/reno/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2524
Author: Deidre Pike
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/marijuana+initiative
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

POT PROHIBITION MADNESS

When the latest anti-pot commercial comes on the radio, I grimace.
Here's roughly how it goes:

"I got high and nothing bad happened," a female voice
says.

"I got high and nothing bad happened," a boy says.

"I got high and ..." You hear sirens and a girl crying over a
never-revealed tragedy that occurs because somebody smoked marijuana.

The logic leaves me shaking my head. Like a faulty syllogism, the
radio bit has an interchangeable proposition. A person could swap "I
got high" with any other phrase and leave the rest of the ad unchanged.

"I used my cell phone while driving and nothing bad
happened."

"I jumped off the roof and nothing bad happened."

"I went shopping at Meadowood Mall and nothing bad
happened."

You don't hear those ads on the radio. We save our demonizing for
low-life druggies who smoke pot.

Marijuana isn't addictive like caffeine and nicotine. And if there
exists a "gateway" drug, it's booze, far more available and acceptable.

Why do we hate pot so?

Chalk it up to effective reefer madness public relations campaigns
that haven't changed much since the 1950s.

Last week, the Nevada Legislature missed its chance to make things
right for Nevadans who're considered criminals because of their
marijuana use.

Though I don't smoke or ingest illegal substances, I was frustrated on
behalf of tens of thousands of Nevadans from whom lawmakers and the
rest of the public won't hear. These individuals fear incarceration.
They also value their jobs. Some work in banking, law, advertising or
construction. They pursue higher education, create art, pay taxes and
cast votes.

One concern expressed by law enforcers revolves around what others
will think of Nevada should we legalize marijuana. We'll be
"laughingstocks," say cops.

A great reason to maintain pot prohibition--to buoy the image of the
local police department.

Legalizing possession of up to one ounce of marijuana would save law
enforcers time and money. It would free up prison space for violent
criminals. And taxing legal marijuana sales the way the state taxes
alcohol would add a new state revenue stream that could be used to
fund education or to give us property tax relief.

Would the move attract tourists to the Silver State? Ask the folks
running cafes in Amsterdam, the "laughingstock" of Europe.

I bring up the idea of profit not because I want to go into biz, but
because it seems a language often spoken by lawmakers.

In reality, this is about fairness, about an adult's right to decide
for herself which substances she enjoys. How would you feel if the
government decided to ban Diet Coke, Red Bull and caramel macchiatos?

Or beer?

At a reception Friday, a UNR administrator raised a glass of wine in a
toast. He was joined by a college dean, business people, community
leaders, educators. After consuming a bit of wine, I felt warm and
sociable.

At a home I visited in Reno not long ago, a rich organic odor filled
the living room. The smell came from a silver-lined bedroom closet
with lamps and a forest of chest-high foliage. The owner touched the
leaves gently, describing the plants as his "babies."

This adult wouldn't get high on the job any more than the university
administrator would down a bottle of wine before going to work.
Neither would drive under the influence.

But while drinkers, smokers and coffee addicts can legally enjoy their
drugs of choice, the marijuana cultivator could go to jail for
gardening in his closet.

Nevada legislators lacked the courage to make the right decision last
week. The issue will be left in voters' hands during the 2006 election.

It's time to end pot prohibition.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake