Pubdate: Thu, 01 Nov 2012
Source: Steamboat Today, The (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Steamboat Pilot & Today
Contact: http://www.steamboattoday.com/submit/letters/
Website: http://www.steamboattoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1549
Author: Chris Richardson
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n510/a01.html
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n545/a06.html

WHAT WE KNOW IS RIGHT

In response to the Steamboat Today's editorial ("Vote no on Amendment 
64," Oct. 9 Steamboat Today) and Roger Sherman's letter to the editor 
("Legalization not simple," Oct. 25 Steamboat Today) regarding 
Amendment 64, I would like to contest that it is, in fact, a simple 
civil rights issue of whether Coloradans feel they have a right to 
possess and consume cannabis.

The admittedly failed federal War on Drugs is more than 40 years old 
and has run up a trillion-dollar tab that we are all paying for, as 
will generations after us. In this same 40-year period we have been 
deprived of the diverse capabilities of industrial hemp for no reason 
other than private vested interests.

Reversing the stigmas and stereotypes that every president since 
Nixon has reinforced is no easy task regardless of how baseless they 
may be. The cannabis community has endlessly fought for reform as 
democratically as possible. Numerous times legalization was properly 
voted the No. 1 topic for President Barack Obama's town halls, but no 
discussion was had. Despite U.S. Patent No. 6630507 stating medical 
benefits of cannabis, and even a federal program called Compassionate 
IND that distributes free medical marijuana to select individuals, it 
remains a Schedule 1 narcotic, meaning no officially recognized 
medical value and the harshest of penalties for those who violate the 
laws against it.

Numerous petitions for rescheduling marijuana have been organized 
during the past 30 years with virtually no response from the Drug 
Enforcement Agency. Even more puzzling is the legality of synthetic 
pharmaceutically-owned and manufactured THC. Legalization attempts 
have been made in the past, but the Goliath guns of corporate 
interest can be overwhelming when compared to David's slingshot. Just 
like Amendment 44 before it, after fighting tirelessly for 40 years, 
this year's Amendment 64 is a sight for sore eyes

Amendment 64 isn't perfect - very few pieces of legislation are. It 
forces action on issues that have remained stagnant for far too long. 
It requires prompt response and clarification from otherwise inactive 
government. It is no more a violation of federal law than Amendment 
20 because of the Schedule 1 status. Yes, the litigation to sort out 
the issues and constitutionality of the federal law will be difficult 
and expensive, but so is running 200,000 people through the legal, 
and sometimes detention, systems every year for victimless crimes. 
The fear of potential consequences has dictated the destructive 
policies of the past four decades, and that must stop. My father once 
told me, "Doing what's right is never easy," and I can't help but to 
think that when trying to govern morality, it is not a matter of what 
seems best, but what we know is right.

Chris Richardson

Steamboat Springs
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