Pubdate: Wed, 09 Jun 2010
Source: Half Moon Bay Review (CA)
Copyright: 2010, Half Moon Bay Review and Pescadero Pebble
Contact:  http://www.hmbreview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/178
Author: Clay Lambert

MARIJUANA QUESTION WILL BE KEY IN GENERAL ELECTION

One thing is clear after a San Mateo County Sheriff's  Office sting
picked up a man affiliated with the Blue  Heaven medical marijuana
dispensary for trafficking in  guns and harder drugs: Selling pot on
the middle ground  between what is legal and illegal is not working.

Virtually everyone has an opinion when it comes to  legalizing
marijuana.

On one side are those who believe the drug is purely  recreational
and, therefore, of no value to society.  They think legalizing the
drug will cause more people  to try it. They worry there would be more
intoxicated  drivers on the streets, more people spending their  money
on pot rather than living expenses. They worry  about cognitive
deficits that may result from chronic  pot smoking.

On the other side are those who liken current marijuana  laws to
Prohibition. They consider pot a relatively  harmless substance and
say adults ought to be able to  smoke it with reasonable restrictions.
They note that  untold public resources are spent enforcing marijuana
laws and that making the drug illegal only assures  business for
outlaws. They also note the state could  use the tax revenue.

In November, voters will again go to the polls and  California will
enter a new era with respect to the  drug. A ballot initiative seeks
to make less than an  ounce legal for anyone 21 and over. It would
allow  cities and counties to regulate retail sales of the  drug to
adults.

Clearly, California's current system is broken. Those  wishing to
purchase from licensed dispensaries must get  a doctor's permission
and that has become another  online joke. Los Angeles recently forced
hundreds of  dispensaries to close because the city had become
overrun with pot houses masquerading as herbaceous  pharmacies. The
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors  and the Half Moon Bay City
Council simply zoned the  places out of business, a disingenuous use
of legal  power.

It's time to end the winking avoidance of legal status  and decide,
once and for all, whether to let adults  smoke marijuana. We'll get
our chance in the general  election. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D