Pubdate: Sat, 16 Apr 2011
Source: News Register (McMinnville, OR)
Copyright: 2011 News-Register Publishing Co.
Contact: http://www.newsregister.com/submit-letter
Website: http://www.newsregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2622
Referenced: Hannah Hoffman's articles 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n234/a05.htm 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n234/a06.html and 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n234/a07.html
Bookmark: http://www.drugsense.org/cms/geoview/n-us-or (Oregon)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

DRUG LAW FLAWS SHOW NEED FOR HONEST DEBATE

Marijuana is the drug of choice for more people than the general 
nonsmoking population might realize, and Oregon's method of 
monitoring its use for medicinal purposes is a joke. It's time to 
have an honest debate about the legalization of pot.

Reporter Hannah Hoffman's stories last week detailed the state's 
medical marijuana law and the legal and illegal ways in which the 
drug is grown and used. She talked to advocates for its legalization, 
law enforcement, pharmacists, growers and caregivers. She saw a 
harvested marijuana plantation in the foothills of the Coast Range, 
where the forest floor had been stripped and littered with pesticides 
and garbage.

Even those who grow and dispense marijuana legally agree that 
Oregon's law is rife with loopholes allowing abuse at many levels. 
The original law, passed by voters in 1998, was stricter than it is 
today. In 2005, the Legislature amended it to allow possession of 
even greater quantities.

An effort to allow dispensaries for the drug failed at the polls last 
year. We rejected that measure editorially and called for a debate 
then, as well.

Let's face it: The use of natural plants as drugs is as old as 
humanity. Some are helpful, such as teas and many herbal remedies. 
Others, like opium poppies and coca leaves, are used to produce 
dangerous and addictive drugs.

We find it easy to proclaim that cocaine, heroin, meth and other 
hardcore drugs should remain illegal; we're less sure about marijuana.

At what point do we legalize a substance? How does society make that 
choice, as it did with tobacco and alcohol, both of which are equally 
or even more harmful than marijuana?

How do we gauge the harm? Is it measured by the detrimental effects 
of the drug itself, or the destruction of lives and property 
accompanying its manufacture and sale?

These aren't easy questions, but they are ethical questions.

Addiction is an ugly thing. Alcohol can be addictive for certain 
people; tobacco has proven to be addictive for those who use it 
regularly. Both cause deadly illnesses if abused-cirrhosis or other 
liver diseases, many types of cancers and emphysema - the list is 
long. Why would we want to legalize marijuana, which is said to 
contain even more carcinogens than tobacco?

We don't have the answers, nor have we formed an opinion at this 
point. But we do know that this country spends enormous amounts of 
money to enforce marijuana laws while the drug cartels continue to 
make billions of dollars in the manufacture and sale of the drug. 
Does it make sense to legalize and tax the drug so that we can spend 
our time and effort prosecuting those who deal in more dangerous and 
deadly substances? In the end, perhaps that decision would save more lives.

We'll start the debate: Oregon's medicinal marijuana law is terribly 
flawed. How we fix it deserves an honest discussion. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake