Pubdate: Thu, 17 Jan 2013
Source: Chico News & Review, The (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/chico/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/559
Author: Robert Speer

A FAILED WAR

Why Do We Continue Spending Billions on a Losing War on Drugs?

Our cover story this week, "Taking the high road," is about 
Washington and Colorado voters' decision to allow residents to use 
marijuana recreationally, and what that might mean for California. 
But there are other important matters at stake on the marijuana 
front, including the future of the "war on drugs."

Why, after all, does the United States continue to spend billions of 
dollars futilely trying to keep people from using marijuana, when 
most Americans believe pot is less harmful than alcohol?

Nearly 800,000 people are arrested for pot possession in the United 
States every year. That's one every 42 seconds, and for what? 
Possessing a weed that grows anywhere?

There are powerful economic forces behind the war on drugs, including 
private-prison operators, prison-guards unions and the rest of the 
prison-industrial complex. Fortunately, in these financially pinched 
times, many chiefs of police and sheriffs are beginning to realize 
that not having to pursue pot smokers frees up resources to go after 
rapists and murderers.

Keep that in mind as you read "Taking the high road."

Brown comes around: An editorial in our Dec. 27 issue, "Brown is 
bluffing, right?" called attention to the governor's statement that 
he was holding back on expanding the state's Medi-Cal program, as 
allowed by the Affordable Care Act, because it would be too costly.

He's wrong about that, we said. The benefits-in increased health care 
and federal funds flowing to California-are much, much greater than 
the expense. Perhaps the governor is just bluffing in an effort to 
squeeze more money out of the feds, we suggested.

We're happy to report that he's changed his mind. Last week he 
announced that California would commit to implementation of the 
Affordable Care Act and that he was including $350 million in his 
budget to help enroll eligible Californians in the expanded program. 
The expansion will cover low-income residents with incomes up to 138 
percent of the federal poverty level, about 1.9 million people. The 
feds will pay 100 percent of the cost for three years and about 90 
percent of the cost thereafter.

Good-bye, Huell: The first few times I watched Huell Howser, I was 
put off by his cornpone style. But the subject of his California Gold 
series on public television, the hidden delights of California, drew 
me in. Over time I came to realize that he was the real deal, a 
folksy, warm-hearted man who saw the wonder in life and was unabashed 
about sharing his enthusiasm. I was sad to learn last week that he'd 
died, just six weeks after retiring, at the age of 67.

Every town has a treasure its residents are proud of, and Howser 
liked nothing more than to highlight it for others to see. His show 
on Bidwell Park is a classic. "I've never seen such a magnificent 
municipal park," he gushed. "This is amazing!" He meant every word.

Huell is gone, but it's comforting to know that his shows, some 2,000 
of them, remain and will continue to be broadcast for years to come.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom