Pubdate: Thu, 22 Nov 2007 Source: Boulder Weekly (CO) Copyright: 2007 Boulder Weekly Contact: http://www.boulderweekly.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/57 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1323/a04.html Author: Allan Erickson PRAISE FOR POT Props to the Boulder Weekly! In the column In Case You Missed It, the headline summed up the whole pot debate in four words: the people want pot. What is difficult to understand about that? Why do police feel they need to puff and bluster with the old "we are following state law" or "the federal law" when in places like Denver the people have spoken? This country exists for and by "the people." There may be 3 branches of government but those 3 branches grow from a main trunk -- us, we, the people. "They" answer to "us." There are an estimated 20 to 40 million pot smokers in this country and there exists no logical reason to criminalize all those people for a private and personal act. Especially when the foundation for pot's prohibition is a pack of bigoted lies and perjured testimony before the U.S. Congress by a xenophobic career government Prohibition bureaucrat (Harry Anslinger). Allan Erickson, Drug Policy Forum of Oregon Eugene, Ore. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake