Pubdate: Fri, 11 Nov 2005
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2005 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Author: Ronald Robertson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MARIJUANA LAWS SHED LIGHT ON OUR PRIORITIES

Regarding Denver's passage of an initiative that will take away
criminal penalties for adults who possess marijuana:

Although I'll be the first to admit that it appears obvious that both
individual citizens and various organizations having joined this
campaign to legalize medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, each
has their various motives.

It appears nonetheless that there is a wealth of experiential data
from countries that have preceded us in this matter supporting the
logic of this approach. That is, reduced teen use, monetary and
organizational resources being made available for higher priority
matters, such as domestic security, prosecution of violent crimes and
the issue of abuse of prescription medications that are often more
addictive and have more serious social effects than the whole herb use
of marijuana.

All you have to do is sit and watch one of the popular genre of
pharmaceutical commercials that one sees on TV today. How nonchalantly
the official-looking man in the lab coat mentions side effects that
are potentially life threatening -- all offered as a trade-off to
avoid some gastric discomfort that could better be treated by diet and
habit modifications.

When a man using a knife to rob my son gets off with three years
probation, even though luckily a police officer witnessed the whole
incident, and someone gets a minimum mandatory sentence of seven years
for growing marijuana in his basement, where are our priorities?

Let's take away this source of revenue for all the illegal
entrepreneurs, many of which are no doubt involved in matters that are
more threatening to our existence as a nation.

Ronald Robertson

Las Vegas
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin