Pubdate: Wed, 22 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: Linda Valdez

MAYBE LEGAL POT NOT SO SMART

I used to support full marijuana legalization. I have nagging doubts 
these days. Arizona's medical marijuana law is a farce that's 
disproportionately used by young men who claim more pain than their 
years would justify in order to gain a steady supply of high.

Chronic pain is the ailment of choice for 80 percent of Arizona 
"patients" with medical marijuana cards, according to the Arizona 
Department of Health Services. Sure. Some of them may be legitimate. 
But 80 percent?

There are two ways to look at this. Either the desire to get high is 
so strong that Arizona should acquiesce and legalize marijuana for 
recreational use by adults.

Or we should avoid compounding the medical marijuana mistake.

The wrong lesson from Prohibition

I used to argue that legalization is a rational acknowledgement that 
Prohibition didn't work for alcohol so we should stop trying to make 
it work for marijuana.

But anti-marijuana warrior Sheila Polk says we are taking the wrong 
lesson from Prohibition.

"What we learned from Prohibition is that it is difficult to take 
away something that is legal," says Polk, the Yavapai County Attorney 
who has been actively opposing efforts to legalize recreational use 
of marijuana in Arizona.

If Arizona legalizes recreational marijuana, it will be "difficult to 
get the cat back in the bag," she says. But that's exactly what we 
may want to do.

According to Polk, legal pot in Colorado led to increased teen use 
and a thriving black market to serve underage users and those who 
want to skirt the taxes on legal pot.

Today's pot is more potent

She says "edibles" have enhanced THC content way above the "Oh, wow!" 
days of my youth.

Efforts to escalate the high are predictable when you legalize 
"making money from an addictive product," Polk says.

Sure. People have been seeking ways to get high for millennia, but 
legalizing marijuana is not the same as repealing Prohibition.

Alcohol was legal, widely used and commonly accepted before 
Prohibition. The same is not true of marijuana.

It continues to carry the taint - and counter-culture glamour - of 
being an illegal substance. You can have a glass of wine at Grandma's 
Thanksgiving table. Passing around marijuana cookies is a different matter.

Smoking yourself stupid

Making marijuana fully legal for adults represents a major step and a 
significant validation of use.

I really don't care if adults want to smoke themselves stupid. But 
don't forget: We all pay a price for layabouts and bad parents.

What's more, I don't want to send kids the message that smoking pot 
is the harmless. It's not. Arizona doesn't have to release the cat 
now. We can wait and see how things play out in Colorado and other 
states that are trying the legalization experiment.

Outlasting one initiative

Polk is confident this year's recreational pot effort can be defeated.

Her work with Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy outlasted one of 
two initiatives that aimed to get Arizona voters to legalize pot this November.

One group, The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, has more 
than $1 million in donations and is expected to make the ballot with 
a measure that legalizes recreational pot for adults.

It limits the number of places where pot can be sold and gives those 
who are currently selling medical marijuana what Polk calls a 
"monopoly" with enduring "competitive advantages."

An odd ally this year

Another initiative pushed by Arizonans for Mindful Regulation, was 
withdrawn when it failed to get enough signatures to qualify for the 
ballot, according to Capitol Media Services. It allowed more 
widespread sales and did not give the medical marijuana operators a 
leg up on becoming gazillionaires.

The Mindful group says it will work to defeat the other initiative, 
then come back in 2018 to ask voters to approve its less restrictive approach.

This gives Polk an odd ally this year and a foe for the future.

In the meantime, if the looming general election gets any more 
painful, Arizona will currently let you prescribe yourself some 
medical marijuana for that chronic headache.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom