Pubdate: Fri, 05 May 2006 Source: Isthmus (WI) Copyright: 2006 Isthmus Contact: http://www.thedailypage.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/215 Author: Gary Storck 'MADSTERDAM' Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's story about Madison in 2031 failed to consider whether we would still have marijuana prohibition (4/7/06). In 2031, 54 years after Madison voted to legalize medical marijuana and private possession for personal use, will there be cannabis coffeeshops like in Holland? Will patients have safe access to their medicine from dispensaries? Will cannabis bloom on State Street? Or will we still be mired in a lost war that currently arrests over 750,000 Americans per year? Madison with regulated pot sales and cannabis coffeeshops -- let's call it Madsterdam -- would be safer, less violent and less angry. While Cieslewicz envisions a "new biological agent" being used to make future gatherings at Halloween and on Mifflin St. happier and less prone to violence, such an agent already exists with cannabis. Roll 'em up! Gary Storck Madison NORML www.madisonnorml.org - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake