Pubdate: Sat, 17 Nov 2012
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2012 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Diane Dimond
Page: A11

TIME TO GET ABOARD LEGAL POT MOVEMENT

The new laws to legalize, regulate and tax the weed are expected to
save or generate multiple millions of dollars for these states.

I'm going to make a bold prediction. America's War on Drugs is now
officially over.

Oh, no one in Washington is going to make any sort of announcement to
confirm this, but take it from me - our four-decades-old drug war
strategy is now formally kaput. To be entirely honest, it has been
sputtering along for years now, accomplishing little and costing us
upward of a trillion dollars.

Citizens in two states - Washington and Colorado - sealed the deal.
They voted that marijuana should be legalized, no prescription or
medical excuse needed. And not only is recreational pot smoking by
adults legal in those two places now, but medicinal use of marijuana
is already the will of the people in 18 other states and the District
of Columbia. Sure looks like a trend to me. President Obama's Justice
Department still considers marijuana to be an illegal substance, and
in the past Attorney General Eric Holder has moved to shut down
legally mandated medicinal clinics and to penalize those who use
marijuana for health care. But in advance of this November's pro-pot
votes, Holder issued none of the usual dire warnings about
enforcement. Hmmm. I wonder why not? Perhaps Washington has quietly
decided to join with what a majority of Americans think - that
marijuana should be legalized. The president is clearly driving this
bus.

An article this past July in GQ magazine reported that Obama had a
plan for his second term to move away from military wars and to "pivot
to the drug war" here at home. The magazine said since his days as a
state senator in Illinois, "Obama has considered the drug war to be a
failure."

As soon as the newly passed laws are certified, it will be legal In
Colorado for an adult to grow up to six pot plants and smoke it in the
comfort of their own home or any other private location. In
Washington, consumers will be able to buy marijuana from
state-licensed providers.

Most important? The new laws to legalize, regulate and tax the weed
are expected to either save or generate multiple millions of dollars
for these states.

Once that happens, how long do you think it will take other
cash-strapped states to follow this lead? That's right, probably not
long at all. Marijuana money will go a long way toward helping states
pay the bills.

Washington and Colorado will soon see their police officers become
unburdened from making picayune pot possession arrests. Their costly
jail and prison populations will begin to dwindle. Their courts and
prosecutors will finally get out from under the massive numbers of
small-time drug bust cases that are so expensive and clog the dockets.

Everyone will be freed up to focus on much more serious crime and
justice matters. The budget balancing rewards of legalizing
recreational pot will simply be too tempting for other states to ignore.

If you doubt the new pot laws will have much of a financial impact,
consider these facts:

Every 42 seconds, police make a marijuana arrest somewhere in America.
That's according to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of
police officers, judges, prosecutors and other criminal justice
professionals who advocate the legalization of pot.

A recent FBI report concluded that 750,000 Americans were arrested on
marijuana laws last year, almost 90 percent for mere possession of
pot. With that many arrests, can you imagine how many more Americans
smoke pot and just haven't been arrested?

The National Geographic Channel reports that at least 15 million U.S.
citizens use marijuana at least once a month.

Once the positive economic reality of regulating and taxing marijuana
becomes evident, how long do you think it will be before we start
hearing serious talk about legalizing all street drugs? That's right,
not long at all.

It is so logical, yet, I can just hear the knee-jerk protest from
those spouting tired laments.

But teenagers will get their hands on marijuana!

People high on pot will get behind the wheel and drive!

Smoking marijuana can kill brain cells and cause other health
problems!

Let's not kid ourselves. Those things are already happening, and we've
dealt with it. When pot is legalized it doesn't mean existing laws are
tossed out. There will still be statutes against smoking in public,
illegal underage sales and use and driving under the influence.

As for the health issues marijuana might cause? Well, I don't think
the government should be in the business of regulating personal choice
about what someone puts in their body - not sugary drinks and
certainly not some weed that so many citizens have voted should be
legal to smoke.

I understand there is still the argument that smoking marijuana leads
users to harder drugs like cocaine, meth or heroin. People prone to
abuse their bodies with cigarettes and alcohol have been known to turn
to other addictive substances. But, the fact is, there are no
conclusive scientific studies proving marijuana is a gateway drug. One
more point. If America - no, I'll say when America - legalizes
marijuana, think of what that will do to the profit margin of the
vicious drug cartels. The money made by criminal enterprises in
foreign countries could stay right here in America if we just got our
playbook straight.

What's lacking is definitive leadership from Washington.

That's a shame, because this legalization train is moving down the
tracks with or without the politicians.
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MAP posted-by: Matt