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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D