Pubdate: Mon, 29 Oct 2012
Source: Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Fort Collins Coloradoan
Contact: http://www.coloradoan.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.coloradoan.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1580
Author: Tina Valenti

REGULATION KEY TO KEEPING MARIJUANA OUT OF YOUTHS' HANDS

Keeping marijuana out of the hands of our youths is something that
everyone agrees on, regardless of what side of the marijuana issue you
stand on. What boggles the mind is the illogical notion that fighting
against regulation will accomplish that. If we really want to protect
our youths, and I believe we all do, keeping marijuana regulated,
where only persons who show valid ID would be able to purchase it, is
absolutely the most effective way to do that.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control released a study that cited
marijuana use among teens is actually up throughout most of the
country. However, the study found that marijuana use in Colorado
actually had decreased among the youths, as well as in other states
where medical marijuana was being sold in regulated centers.

I hear local opponents of marijuana talk about how it isn't
"regulated" yet, and this is patently false.

In 2010, a regulatory agency was created within the Colorado
Department of Revenue called the Medical Marijuana Enforcement
Division, or MMED; they were charged with regulating medical marijuana
in our state.

They began by taking the current regulatory schemes for alcohol and
gambling and combining them. They then started filling in the blanks
with marijuana-specific regulations. During this process, they
prohibited any new marijuana businesses from opening until they could
fully accomplish this task, and they even extended this moratorium on
new businesses an extra year to be sure that they had finished a
complete set of regulations specific to the marijuana industry before
they allowed new businesses to apply.

This was accomplished by July 2012. As with any industry, as new
considerations come to light, they continue to build upon the solid
foundation of regulation and add new pertinent regulation to
comprehensively address any issues that were previously overlooked.
Proposed Amendment 64 will expand on this current regulatory scheme
that is already in place, assuring an effective and smooth transition
to mainstream regulation.

Marijuana is now tightly controlled in Colorado and, as evidenced by
the recent CDC report, this regulation has effectively worked to keep
it out of the hands of our children.

As everyone knows but only few publicly acknowledge, marijuana is
readily available to our youths on the streets via the "black market,"
and has been since the 1960s. A regulated model effectively eliminates
the opportunity for a marijuana black market because responsible
patients and adults would be able to go purchase this nontoxic,
non-addicting substance in a state-regulated retail outlet,
eliminating the demand for "street dealers." When the street dealers
go away, so does the opportunity for kids to acquire it, and that is
why regulation works and why prohibition does not, because prohibition
keeps the unregulated street dealer in business, which is the place
our youths continue to have access.

A yes vote on 301 is a vote for regulation in our town, and a yes vote
on 64 is a vote for sensible and controlled regulation in our state of
a substance that is long overdue for sensible action. Improve (and
eliminate) the current black market model, vote yes on 64, yes on 301,
and keep marijuana out of the hands of our youths.
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MAP posted-by: Matt