Pubdate: Wed, 28 Nov 2012
Source: McAlester News-Capital (OK)
Copyright: 2012 McAlester News-Capital
Contact:  http://www.mcalesternews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1892
Page: 6A
Note: This editorial first appeared in Monday's Washington Post.

WHAT SHOULD FEDS DO ABOUT POT?

Small-time marijuana use will soon be legal in Colorado and Washington
state. Sort of.

This month voters in those states approved ballot measures permitting
possession of up to an ounce of pot. But the federal government has
not changed its policy, which labels the drug an illegal substance.
Members of Congress introduced legislation Nov. 16 that would allow
state marijuana rules to preempt federal ones. But that, in effect,
would resemble federal legalization, and it's unlikely to pass anytime
soon.

So the states' leaders are asking for guidance from President Obama's
Justice Department, which, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports, has a few
options. It could enhance its own anti-marijuana enforcement in the
states. It could sue to halt the laws' application.

Or the Justice Department could keep its hands off, perhaps continuing
the approach the feds have largely taken for some time - focusing
scarce resources on major violators, such as big growers that might
serve multi-state markets, cultivators using public lands or
dispensaries near schools. The last option is clearly best.

There is reason for caution about ditching federal pot restrictions.
Marijuana can be harmful, and the Drug Enforcement Administration
reports that potency levels are higher than ever. The possibly major
effects on public health of more driving under the influence of
marijuana is a particular concern. If the federal government removed
its restrictions, other states would find it easier to follow Colorado
and Washington's path. Dismantling current federal law, meanwhile,
could have a range of effects on the U.S. relationship with Mexico
that lawmakers should take time to consider fully, as drug cartels'
involvement in U.S. medical marijuana markets indicates.

But it's unrealistic and unwise to expect federal officials to pick up
the slack left by state law-enforcement officers who used to enforce
marijuana prohibitions against pot users and small-time growers.
Unrealistic, because it would require lots more resources. Unwise,
because filling prisons with users, each given a criminal stain on his
or her record, has long been irrational. For the latter reason, we
favor decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot, assessing
civil fines instead of locking people up. Also, for that reason and
others, the Justice Department should hold its fire on a lawsuit
challenging Colorado and Washington's decision to behave more
leniently. And state officials involved in good-faith efforts to
regulate marijuana production and distribution according to state laws
should be explicitly excused from federal targeting.

It's not yet clear how a quasi-legal pot industry might operate in
Colorado and Washington or what its public-health effects will be. It
could be that these states are harbingers of a slow, national
reassessment of marijuana policy. Or their experiment could serve as
warning for the other 48 states.

For now, the federal government does not need to stage an aggressive
intervention, one way or the other. It can wait, watch and enforce the
most worrisome violations as they occur.
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