Pubdate: Thu, 23 Oct 2014
Source: Alaska Dispatch News (AK)
Copyright: 2014 Alaska Dispatch Publishing
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Note: Anchorage Daily News until July '14
Author: Arthur Keyes
Note: Arthur Keyes owns Glacier Valley Farm in Palmer and is the 
founder of the South Anchorage Farmers Market. He has worked in 
produce all of his adult life and was once director of the Alaska 
State Farm Bureau. He currently serves on the board of directors for 
both the Palmer Soil & Water Conservation District and the Mat-Su 
Farm Bureau, of which he is a past president.

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA WON'T RUIN ALASKA

I don't approve of marijuana use for myself or my family, but I don't 
believe the dire warnings of those advocating to keep pot illegal in 
contradiction of the principles of liberty our country and state were 
founded on.

"The amount of money and of legal energy being given to prosecute 
hundreds of thousands of Americans who are caught with a few ounces 
of marijuana in their jeans simply makes no sense -- the kindest way 
to put it. A sterner way to put it is that it is an outrage, an 
imposition on basic civil liberties and on the reasonable expenditure 
of social energy."

That quote wasn't from a Cheech and Chong movie, or written on a sign 
waved by a protestor in the 1960s, but from the late conservative 
political columnist and National Review publisher William F. Buckley Jr.

As a farmer and father, and someone who tries his best every day to 
respect and obey laws, I take ballot measures seriously. Ballot 
Measure 2 on Alaska's general election ballot Nov. 4 is a very 
important issue that I encourage all voters to contemplate.

My first disclosure is that I neither smoke cigarettes nor marijuana. 
Secondly, I really don't want my wife or kids (when they're adults 
and able to do so legally) to smoke and am glad they choose not to. 
Third, I'm very health-conscious in diet and nutrition, and I'm 
unsure if marijuana, whether through edibles or by smoking, is even 
remotely healthy for humans. I've also learned that most things we 
consume or ingest are not necessarily good for us -- but we still do.

Alcohol is legal and freely poured, yet the outcry against its 
consumption is minimal, while the marijuana discussion seems to 
generate vitriol from the oddest places (Alaska Support Industry 
Alliance and state Chambers of Commerce opposing; clergy submitting 
op-eds in opposition; law enforcement associations suggesting 
officers need $6 million or more in "new" training to detect if 
someone is high from pot). In concert, these objections and atypical 
spokespeople make me take pause.

Citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- between 2006 
and 2010 there were 38,253 chronic cases of alcohol-related disease 
and 49,544 acute cases. Anti-pot stalwarts claim that comparing the 
use of marijuana to alcohol is an apples-to-oranges analysis, but it 
sure doesn't seem that way to me. The staggering numbers of illness 
and fatalities (and violence against women) caused by booze, and with 
the protections and defense by the trillion-dollar-per-year liquor 
lobby, is like David vs. Goliath when it comes to advocacy and 
criminalization. Pot growers, smokers and consumers don't have a chance.

As for prisons and marijuana, Rolling Stone reported the following: 
"About 750,000 people are arrested every year for marijuana offenses 
in the U.S. There's a lot of variation across states in what happens 
next. Not all arrests lead to prosecutions, and relatively few people 
prosecuted and convicted of simple possession end up in jail. Most 
are fined or are placed into community supervision. About 40,000 
inmates of state and federal prison have a current conviction 
involving marijuana, and about half of them are in for marijuana 
offenses alone; most of these were involved in distribution."

According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, there have been 
more than 8,000 arrests for marijuana possession in Alaska since 
2004, which is the last time we voted on legalization. If we vote no 
again this year, how many more resources will be wasted fighting this 
failed war?

To me, that's a lot of people incarcerated. Imagine if alcohol (or, 
God forbid, soda pop) became illegal again. I'd venture to guess we'd 
have 10 times the amount of incarcerations from alcohol infractions 
compared to marijuana use. In 2012, there were 2,266,800 adults 
incarcerated in United States federal and state prisons. That's an 
embarrassing and disappointing statistic in and of itself.

So, in the past weeks I've heard it all. Marijuana will be used more 
if accessible legally. Cannabis in other forms like brownies and 
cookies will get in the hands of and harm children. Cops will need 
massive and technical training to sniff out the droves of new 
violators once legal (seriously?). The free-for-all of new herb 
addicts will skyrocket driving accidents, psychosis and paranoia, 
violence and lethargy, appetites and squandering of income that could 
be used for better purposes. And the mafia will come to town, and 
major drug gangs, and kids will be accessing their parents' "pot 
stashes" in a frenzy of dope-laden nirvana....

I don't buy it. I'm not suggesting marijuana is healthy and warranted 
for everyone, but I embrace the libertarian perspective our country 
was founded on. The idea that marijuana is "somewhat" legal through 
the state's Ravin decision, and the fact that medical marijuana is an 
option but with strict and infringing rules attached to the issuance 
of such a license, means it makes more sense to clearly legalize, 
regulate and afford citizens the right of choice and free will. The 
income alone is an economic benefit, and employment and new 
infrastructure can be added to the list of personal choice equating 
to more revenue and fiscal strength.

And no -- I don't smoke nor do I intend to enter the pot-selling or 
growing market despite the fact I'm a farmer and a businessman. I 
want nothing to do with marijuana. But I also don't drink 
Jagermeister or devour Big Gulps or smoke cigarettes or gamble at 
casinos or go to strip clubs or buy 2-for-1 pizzas, and that's all 
legal and unhealthy too.

Consider parental accountability, as you weigh your decision to vote 
to legalize marijuana. Shouldn't parents educate and watch over their 
kids like they do with other illegal and youth-prohibited substances 
and activities? And the thought that legalizing marijuana will stir a 
hornet's nest of wasted drivers and sick-days and Taco Bell line 
congestion ... it's nonsense.

The freedom to make our own decisions is a huge liberty for me. It 
matters. It's what our country was founded on more than any other 
reason, and it's why, as a lifelong independent, I'll be voting yes 
on Ballot Measure 2 this November.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom