Pubdate: Sun, 05 Jun 2016
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2016 The Arizona Republic
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Elvia Diaz, La Voz
Note: Elvia Diaz is editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral.

DIAZ: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA IS EASY (BUT NOT REALLY THE SOLUTION)

Legalizing recreational marijuana is just hard to swallow - or inhale
- - politically and personally.

For some of you, the issue may come down to moral values. For others,
it's a matter of compromise for the greater good of society. And to
many others, it's about a justice system that unfairly targets
marijuana users, especially minorities.

As the debate over taxing and regulating the sale of cannabis gains
steam in Arizona, I framed some questions to help me shape my stance
- -- and perhaps yours as well.

What would the initiative do in Arizona?

Under the proposal, which likely will be on the November ballot,
anyone 21 or older could possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow
up to six plants in their homes without obtaining licenses. The plants
need to be in a secure area.

The plan would create a distribution system similar to Colorado's,
where licensed businesses produce and sell marijuana and pay a
15-percent tax on retail sales. The money would go toward public
health and education, including full-day kindergarten.

Am I OK selling drugs to pay for public education?

Washington and Colorado, the first two states to legalize pot, have
indeed collected tens of millions of dollars from marijuana sales tax.
So, sure there is a lot of money in the drug business.

And in Arizona, there could be as much as $113 million in new tax
revenue, according to a recent study by the non-partisan Tax
Foundation. The money would come from the 15-percent levy on the drug.

"These are dollars that no longer go to drug cartels but instead help
our schools and local governments provide important services," wrote
Barrett Marson, a campaign spokesman for the Arizona initiative.

OUR TURN: Legal pot will hurt education

Some proponents of the Arizona initiative point to the fact that state
government has implemented tax cuts for many years and thereby
reducing tax collections. Thus, they say, a new revenue stream is
absolutely necessary.

I agree we must inject more money into public schools, but I can't
support selling drugs as the answer. Following the logic, there are
other drugs that could generate a lot more money to pay for everything
from schools to cops and firefighters. Will ending prohibition get rid
of drug dealers?

Getting rid of underground sales and freeing cops to focus on more
serious crimes is one of the cornerstones for marijuana proponents.

But anyone who can read knows that the black market is thriving in
Colorado and Washington where recreational marijuana has been legal
since 2012.

If approved in Arizona, drug dealers will merely drop the price of
marijuana to compete with licensed shops where sales of the drugs
would be taxed at 15 percent.

In a free market, users looking for a bargain will turn to their known
dealers to buy as much as they need and shop owners themselves may
become exporters to make a profit.

The justice system unfairly punishes users, especially minorities.
Will legal marijuana fix the problem?

The American Civil Liberties Union has long argued that police
disproportionally target African-Americans, even though they consume
marijuana no more than Whites.

It turns out, arrests for marijuana possession dropped by 98 percent
in Washington and 95 percent in Colorado, according to a recent
article in The Atlantic.

Top law enforcement officials in Arizona and elsewhere say that
regulating marijuana like alcohol result in more arrests, increased
traffic fatalities and complicate their jobs.

Well, the issue is not about making it easier for cops to do their
jobs. But I'm not sold either on the notion that we must legalize
drugs as a way to fix a justice system where racist cops and
prosecutors go after minorities. Would legal pot burden employers?

The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce is opposing the initiative,
saying it would "cause significant ambiguity for businesses to
regulate a drug-free workplace."

The group's vice president of public affairs, Mike Huckins, argued
that legalizing pot would hurt employees' productivity, would create
safety concerns and more of them would skip work.

MY TURN: Legal pot will lead to more crashes

I'm not a human resource specialist. But aren't businesses supposed to
offer a drug-free environment already?

Mechanisms should already be in place to test employees for drugs.
Otherwise, how do employers ensure now workers don't show up drunk or
high on drugs?

Saying legalizing marijuana would negatively impact businesses and
hurt the state's ability to attract new companies isn't going to cut
it. I'm not buying that argument. We need to hear specifics on what
legalizing pot would mean for employers.

What's the big deal anyway?

I've asked myself that question many times. And my first instinct is
to side with proponents who say smoking pot is really not a big deal
because it doesn't have the same health risks as cocaine, heroine,
meth and other drugs.

I don't condone marijuana users and I don't believe legalizing it
would mean people would smoke it around me. I know it would be
regulated just as tobacco smokers are now at workplaces.

POLL: Marijuana initiative would fail today

I agonized over the pro and cons because both sides have valid
arguments. But in the end, I simply can't embrace legalizing any kind
of drug  even marijuana  that has triggered the failed war on drugs in
this country and Mexico, and which has cost the lives of more than
100,000 people in recent years.

Nor am willing to turn to drugs to solve our financial ills and
problems with the legal system. And you shouldn't take the easy way
out either.

Elvia Diaz is editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D