Pubdate: Tue, 20 May 2014 Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY) Copyright: 2014 Tom Gagnon Contact: http://www.trib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/765 Author: Tom Gagnon WYOMING MARIJUANA ABSURDITY There are three particularly absurd things about Wyoming's fight against marijuana: First: Wyoming is a state that proudly exports lots of air polluting fossil fuels, and uranium too, and we consider marijuana a "dangerous substance." Should the same standards be applied to all things, we wouldn't have anything to export. Second: Regarding Wyoming's relative position in the greater War on Drugs, we're about in the middle of the country. Consider the frequent newspaper accounts of cars being pulled over along Interstate-80. Let's say that the car has Ohio plates and is speeding. Officer Trap pulls it over and also searches the car and finds marijuana. The driver intended to buy pot in California and resell it in Ohio. California gets a small economic stimulus, Ohio gets nothing and Wyoming gets a big bill for law enforcement and the incarceration of someone who just wants to drive eastward and be done with us. In this case as outlined, Officer Trap should certainly write a speeding ticket, but then let the driver go with his cargo to become the problem (i.e., the expense) of some other state. I mean, what do we gain here in Wyoming? Nothing. We get a reputation for petty bullying. We're hurting ourselves to punish someone else. This is absurd. Couldn't we just send Ohio an e-postcard? I mean, there was the crime-of-a-purchase in California, and a hoped for crime-of-a-sale in Ohio, and we get stuck in the middle and with the bill! Third: The final absurd point is that anyone in Wyoming can take a short drive to Colorado and legally buy marijuana. This enriches that state and helps them to develop a hip and smart reputation (as well as one that is closer to the spirit of the Constitution), versus our reputation for bullying, pettiness and injustice. To recapture my three points about our absurdity, we export far more dangerous things, we're paying for crimes in other states, and we can't do a damn thing about that Rocky Mountain High. TOM GAGNON, Rock Springs - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D