Pubdate: Tue, 10 May 2016 Source: Trentonian, The (NJ) Copyright: 2016 The Trentonian Contact: http://www.trentonian.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006 Author: L.A. Parker TOO MUCH ATTENTION PAID TO TOKING, NOT ENOUGH TO EDUCATION A marijuana legalization supporting friend frequently delivers this insight. "It's a plant, L.A. People should not be arrested for smoking a plant," she says. Her potted observations includes the same allowance for Cannabis oil, butter, gummy bears, coffee, etc. Her observation attracts a certain appreciation except for the fact that smoking such plant remains a violation of New Jersey law. Now, if people want to smoke that plant in public or sell such green produce behind the guise of religious temples and fruit smoothies store frontage, then that's the chance they take. All those people who followed a popular marijuana smoker down that rabbit hole and ended up in jail or were released under their own recognizance, then that decision ends up on your side of the ledger. Meanwhile, that same guy who professed world-wide weed use jettisoned from behind bars with money and attorneys waiting to defend his every civil liberty. Trenton remains filled with irrational thinkers who decry government when they close an alleged marijuana joint or sanctuary but light up and do nothing when that same government shuts down four public libraries. Political leaders express a desire to hire more police and law enforcement officers, but layoff educators by the hundreds as city residents shout "Oh, yes, Mr. Big Brother. Give us more police to protect us from our wayward children and from ourselves because we're uneducated and our libraries are shuttered." This vicious circle cultivates calamity as marijuana smokers fail to understand that they will not receive employment opportunities as their drug screenings show elevated levels of THC. Plus, plant smokers, especially those who challenge the rules with public displays of toking, run the risk of police altercation. A personal law demands giving police no reason to pull over my vehicle or engage me in any way. I'm just saying. Actually, wiser marijuana users who engage in recreational use rarely draw attention to themselves. Police friends admit that they rarely raid homes based on the mild aroma of marijuana wafting from a backyard. People who really want an occasional high without the law enforcement threat have options of edibles and baked goods. Medical edible Kush Cake Pops are all the rage with cannabis users. If marijuana smokers search for the high without law enforcement intervention, then why not just eat your way to outer limits. No doubt, the rolling process and weed aroma play a factor in ritualistic marijuana use but smart people enjoy their opportunities without attracting attention. Laughter accompanied reports of the police raid of the downtown temple. First, that many police officers, weapons and power for about a dozen fish and grits customers? That police siege looked more like the Raid on Entebbe or pushback against Branch Davidians. Hilarity ensued as police arrested 13 people, two on drug charges and 11 others for outstanding warrants. Approximately, 84,000 people live in Trenton and more than half have warrants for unpaid parking tickets or other violations. While a personal belief concurs with a decriminalization or legalization of marijuana use, educated people lay low unless they have the wherewithal to pay fines, spend time in prison and remain unemployed for extended periods of time. Gov. Chris Christie promises no support for marijuana legalization which means no significant movement on this issue. However, even marijuana legalization will not erase arrests for illegal use. Marijuana users should employ caution and common sense or face the consequences. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom