Pubdate: Fri, 01 Aug 2014
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2014 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198

END PROHIBITION

With calls for change coming from across the spectrum, let states 
dictate marijuana laws.

We always knew that marijuana altered the human brain, but it must be 
more powerful than we thought if it has the famously liberal New York 
Times editorial board in agreement with Gov. Rick Perry.

In a recent editorial, the collective voice of the Grey Lady echoed a 
sentiment that Perry expressed last year at World Economic Forum in 
Davos, Switzerland: Marijuana laws should be dictated by the states, 
not the federal government. It is a position that this board has 
reiterated over the past several years.

While there are still questions about long-term health effects of 
marijuana use or the policy implications of decriminalization or 
legalization, the United States knows all too well the consequences 
of continuing the war on drugs: millions spent on ineffective law 
enforcement, drug cartels getting rich and poor people going to jail.

The heavy burden of our national marijuana policies is uniquely borne 
by the black community. While black kids and white kids statistically 
use marijuana at equal rates, according to a study last year from the 
American Civil Liberties Union, black kids are 3.73 times more likely 
to be arrested for possession.

Here in Harris County, blacks were 44.9 percent of all marijuana 
possession arrests in 2010 despite being only 18.9 percent of the 
population. Colorado and Washington already have legalized 
recreational marijuana, and 18 other states plus the District of 
Columbia have legal medical marijuana, but it seems like marijuana 
possession is de facto decriminalized if you just live in the right 
neighborhood. These startling statistics belie our nation's promise 
of equal treatment under the law. It is time for Texas to officially 
change our own marijuana policies.

The discussion already has begun in the race for Harris County 
district attorney, where Democratic candidate Kim Ogg has said she 
would punish low-level marijuana possession with tickets and 
community service instead of arrests and jail time. By her numbers, 
more than 12,000 people were charged in Harris County last year with 
possessing less than 4 ounces of marijuana. These prosecutions left 
county taxpayers on the hook for $4.4"...million. There's also the 
social cost of taking people away from their jobs and families and 
shuttling them through an unforgiving criminal justice system. All 
this for something that is essentially a bad habit and a vice.

District Attorney Devon Anderson has said that she's working on her 
own similar program, but we're skeptical. Just last year, Anderson 
criticized relaxed rhetoric toward marijuana as acting "recklessly" 
and promised to vigorously prosecute drug possession. Anderson also 
entered her office on a promise to continue prosecuting for 
possession of trace amounts of drugs - amounts so small that they're 
often difficult to test in labs. These are the positions of someone 
who puts anti-drug philosophy ahead of effective policy.

Then again, Anderson is allowed to change her mind. After decades of 
a national zero-tolerance drug agenda, states now are demonstrating 
that there is another way. Advocates for change have new examples and 
evidence to back their arguments, and it just may be enough to 
convince some former drug warriors.

All this progress relies on restrained prosecutorial discretion from 
the Department of Justice, which allows local experiments with 
marijuana regulation to continue unencumbered. Ogg's plan essentially 
replicates that at a local level. It is a good start, but real change 
has to come from rewriting outdated laws. At a time when partisanship 
feels worse than ever, this is an area where even the New York Times 
and Rick Perry can agree.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom