Pubdate: Sat, 12 Jan 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Authors: Patrick J. Kennedy and Kevin A. Sabet
Note: Patrick J. Kennedy is a former Rhode Island congressman and
Kevin A. Sabet is a former senior drug policy adviser in the Obama
administration. Both are founders of Project SAM (Smart Approaches
tomarijuana).

POT DEBATE ISN'T JUST LEGALIZATION VS. INCARCERATION

Colorado residents are holding their breath for President Obama's
announcement regarding recently passed measures legalizing marijuana.

Whatever the decision is, it is sure not to end the debate about
marijuana, especially since some Colorado counties are banning
marijuana operations already. And marijuana use and sales remain
illegal under federal law.

Sadly, this debate has been mainly confined to two very simplistic
notions of policy: incarceration and legalization. These words have
dominated the marijuana policy discussion over the past decade. And
they are both wrong. They represent a false dichotomy that overlooks
more complex and promising solutions in favor of simplistic and risky
ones.

Though touted by legalization advocates as a cure to ailing state
budgets and a crippling of drug cartels, it is clear that marijuana is
good for neither. Legal alcohol and tobacco provide examples: For
every dollar the government brings in from taxation, it spends $10 on
social costs.

We know that the costs of today's highly potent marijuana include
400,000 emergency room visits, increased incidence of mental illness,
car crashes, and learning problems for kids. These costs will only
increase as more people use easily obtainable, heavily promoted, cheap
marijuana in such a permissive environment. And we are confident
marijuana will be promoted widely. Already, talk of creating the
Starbucks equivalent of marijuana and pop-star promotion of the drug
has begun.

But we also know one more segment of private industry might be
interested in cashing in: big tobacco. A consultant's report to Brown
and Williamson uncovered in court read: "The use of marijuana ... has
important implications for the tobacco industry in terms of an
alternative product line. [We] have the land to grow it, the machines
to roll it and package it, the distribution to market it." Big tobacco
lied to America for 80 years about the dangers of smoking. They
deliberately targeted kids. Why would we think it would be any
different for marijuana?

That we are uneasy about legalization should not be construed as
acceptance of the status quo. Though people are not imprisoned for
using small amounts of marijuana, people still get arrested for
possessing the drug, resulting in a blemish on their records. They
have a hard time getting a job or accessing social benefits - and this
can incentivize reintroduction into the illicit economy. The answer is
not to simply legalize; we must instead offer health interventions and
other assistance to those who are caught with the drug, based on their
particular situation.

Finally, studies show that the average "medical" marijuana user is a
32-year-old with no life-threatening illness. Less than 5 percent have
cancer, HIV or a terminal illness. But that doesn't mean components of
marijuana are not medicine. There are ways to deliver its medicinal
potential without compromising public health. A pill containing
marijuana's most active ingredient is available at pharmacies. We need
more research into marijuana's other components, since many have begun
to show promise.

(One such medicine, an oral spray that does not get you high, is
available in 22 countries already.) And until such research produces
those medicines, we could also enroll the seriously ill into a
research program giving them responsible access to non-inhaled
components of marijuana. Just like we don't smoke opium to reap the
benefits of morphine, however, we need not smoke marijuana to get its
therapeutic properties.

So if neither legalization nor prohibition, then what? Sciencebased
drug education for parents and kids needs to become a top national
priority. Community coalitions that engage in multiple community
sectors, and drug courts that leverage the criminal justice systemwith
treatment must be brought to scale. Strategies that implement job and
stable housing programs should also be more widespread.

While "lock 'em up" or "legalize" may both fit neatly on a bumper
sticker, they are not thoughtful ways to implement drug policy.

As cities and towns ban retail sales on their own in Colorado, we
should not think full legalization is a foregone conclusion here. It
is not too late to have a responsible conversation about marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D