Pubdate: Thu, 23 Jan 2014
Source: Morning Sun (Mt. Pleasant, MI)
Copyright: 2014 Morning Sun
Contact:   http://www.themorningsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3938
Page: A4
Note: Editorial from The Orange County Register

GETTING SENSIBLE ABOUT MARIJUANA

Marijuana use isn't all that big a deal; at least that's what the
American people think.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll released recently found 55 percent of
Americans supporting the legalization of pot, a number buttressed by
recent Gallup and Pew polls that showed similar trends.

Expect the issue to be front and center this year, with Colorado
allowing recreational use of the drug as of Jan. 1 and Washington
State set to do the same later this year.

It's true that there can be adverse consequences associated with
intoxication, but they seem to us to be no worse (if not less severe)
than those associated with alcohol. As with booze, law enforcement
would do better to focus on instances where intoxication endangers
public safety rather than targeting users who pose no danger to
themselves or to their communities.

For too long, we've allowed marijuana use to consume valuable public
resources. It's neither a wise use of law enforcement's time nor of
space in our jails to lock up people for such a relatively benign
practice. Moreover, these efforts have clearly failed to have a
broader societal impact. Marijuana remains widely accessible and, as
the polling reveals, the public doesn't regard it as an especially
grievous threat.

The best remedy for the current situation is to give state and local
governments the leeway to make their own decisions.

One note of caution: The rule of law must not become a casualty of
liberalized stances on marijuana. At present, use of the drug remains
illegal under federal law. Colorado and Washington are able to indulge
their experiments only because the U.S. Justice Department has
signaled that it will ignore the prohibitions on the books.

This sort of arbitrary enforcement of duly enacted laws is something
we've witnessed from the Obama administration on everything from
immigration to Obamacare. It needs to stop. The administration should
do right by the Constitution and push for the repeal of marijuana
prohibitions at the federal level, allowing the states to set their
own policies. Doing the right thing is not a justification for doing
it the wrong way.
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MAP posted-by: Matt