Pubdate: Sun, 2 Aug 2009 Source: Record Searchlight (Redding, CA) Copyright: 2009 Record Searchlight Contact: http://www.redding.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/360 Author: Alana Marie Burke Referenced: AB390 http://drugsense.org/url/gwVcxxaW Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/AB+390 (Assembly Bill 390) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Schwarzenegger Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?161 (Marijuana - Regulation) TAXES ASIDE, LEGAL POT WOULD COST US DEARLY Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. It damages the lungs; impairs memory, concentration and motivation; and contains more carcinogens than cigarettes. However, California is economically in the tank, and this may be a boon for those who believe that smoking pot is "no big deal" and want marijuana legalized. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has introduced Assembly Bill 390, which removes all criminal penalties for personal marijuana possession and cultivation for adults over age 21, allows persons 21 or older to grow up to 10 mature plants, and makes possession and sales of marijuana paraphernalia legal for adults 21 and up. According to Ammiano, efforts to eradicate marijuana have not succeeded, so it is time to bring "a major piece of our economy into the light of day."(0x00A0)In other words, if at first you don't succeed, give up. Other ballot initiatives in recent months indicate that California potheads have found their voice and, since the state needs money, lawmakers are listening. If taxed like cigarettes and alcohol, marijuana could generate an estimated $100 million a year, with additional savings in law enforcement resources. These funds would ameliorate California's budget issues. However, when the smoke clears, the collateral damage from the government pimping dope will exceed the monetary benefits of retailing and taxing it. California, fraught with inept government and a populace bent on pushing every sociopolitical limit, cannot afford to be dumbed down by legislators championing drug use to make a buck. The big question is not whether marijuana use for recreation is unhealthy and dangerous, which it is, but whether the right to do self-harm is a civil right and, if so, if all drugs should be legal for personal use. One argument purports that drug use is a victimless crime; after all, the user is not necessarily recruiting or dosing others. Moreover, if we follow the Roe v. Wade model, people have the right to control their own body and should be able to alter their consciousness however they see fit. If marijuana is legalized, then this opens the door to all illicit drugs - there is no ideological difference between any of them even if the physical consequences vary. No man is an island and the actions of one create a ripple effect. Drug use is an indolent way to alter or avoid reality, and abusers become less and less of a viable resource. Consequently, addicts become a drain on society, as individuals, employees, students and parents, and this makes them everybody's problem, especially in this new age of universal bailout. The arguments for legalizing marijuana cite the legitimacy of alcohol and nicotine, the high rates of crime and the cost of enforcement caused by the prohibition of illicit drugs. Alcohol and nicotine abuse already exact a hefty medical, financial and sociological price. It is neither right nor necessary to endorse yet another substance that will create more addicts and further drain. It is more than reasonable to enforce dealing and smuggling laws and continue to discourage drug use. If this were not the case, then why does Assembly Bill 390 contain a hypocritical clause levying a $50/ounce excise tax earmarked for state drug education and treatment programs? A percentage of the taxes on cigarettes and alcohol fund drug and alcohol education. Promoting a new drug, so that it can be taxed, so that the taxes can be used to discourage the drug use is just asinine. Marijuana is medically useful in alleviating pain and certain medical conditions. However, board-certified physicians, not yahoos with Kool-Aid stands writing "prescriptions," should regulate dispensing - in pill or inhalant form. Neighbors with their prescriptions, pot farms, uncut pit bull "pets" and multitudes of "friends" are blights on any community. It is right to continue the war on drugs, even when the costs are high. It is illogical to expect to win it completely, but the fight is a worthy one. It is absurd to take the low road and promote a drug known to distort perceptions, impair coordination and adversely impact memory and learning. As Jefferson Airplane said in their song "White Rabbit," "When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead .. Keep your head!" - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake