Pubdate: Thu, 30 Jun 2005
Source: Wakefield Observer (MA)
Contact:  
http://www2.townonline.com/wakefield/
Address: 72 Cherry Hill St., Beverly, MA 01915
Copyright: 2005 Community Newspaper Company
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

TIME FOR SERIOUS TALK ABOUT POT

A  recent report that Boston leads the nation in marijuana use seemed 
to be greeted more with laughter than concern. "Hub goes to pot," the 
Boston Herald's front-page headline screamed, "We are the highest 
city in the U.S!" Other media  outlets reacted with a similar mix of 
bemusement and civic pride at the news  from a federal agency that 12 
percent of Massachusetts adults had smoked  marijuana within the last 
month. The reaction is perhaps unsurprising, given the  numbers. If 
that many residents are regular users of an illegal drug, it's hard 
to paint it as a serious threat.

The problem  is that the law takes it seriously indeed. According to 
the Criminal Justice  Policy Coalition, more than 2,100 people are 
arrested each year in Massachusetts  for marijuana possession, 
costing taxpayers some $24 million - some reports  place the number 
at about 7,000 people. The idea that people don't go to jail  for 
marijuana is a myth: Across the country there are thousands of 
people  serving time for getting caught doing what 12 percent of 
metro Boston residents did in the last month.

As a  general rule, when a law is that commonly violated, there's a 
problem with the  law. State legislators, typically too afraid of 
being called "soft on drugs" to  even entertain reform of marijuana 
laws, should take a lesson from the rate of  marijuana use and the 
less-than-alarmed response to it. Arresting, trying and  locking up 
people for possession of a drug used safely by millions of people is 
no laughing matter.

There is  serious discussion to be had about the topic treated so 
lightly when the federal  report came out. The debate over medical 
marijuana rages. Emboldened by a recent  Supreme Court ruling, 
federal agents this week raided three California cannabis  clubs that 
for years have been giving seriously ill people the medication they  need.

The abuse  of marijuana by teenagers is also serious business. There 
is ample evidence that  pot isn't good for brains that are still 
developing. Local middle- and  high-school students report that it's 
easier for them to get hold of marijuana  than alcohol, which should 
provoke a discussion over which is more effective at  protecting 
children, prohibition or regulation. Marijuana  is no joke, and 
serious leaders shouldn't treat it like one. The Legislature's  Joint 
Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse will hold a hearing 
Monday  on legislation making adult possession of marijuana a civil 
violation instead of  a criminal act. That's a good place to start a 
serious discussion.
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MAP posted-by: Beth