Can't Legalize? Decriminalize

Can't vote to legalize? Decriminalize
By Kelvin Wade
April 22, 2010

The International Cannabis and Hemp Expo took place at the Cow Palace in Daly City during the weekend. It was the first such show to allow on-site pot smoking. Expo-goers could learn about growing, buy hemp-related products, buy brownies, check out bongs and vaporizers and discuss marijuana laws.

A doctor was on site to issue temporary recommendations for $99 so expo-goers could smoke in the on-site medicating area.

Expo CEO Bob Katzman was reported as saying, 'We're exercising our rights as patients to peacefully gather.'

Really? Was that what it was? A medical seminar?

There are just a few things I'm wondering about. Did expo-goers have trouble seeing in the Cow Palace with all the black lighting? Was the Grateful Dead playing over the arena speakers the whole time or did they mix in some Ziggy Marley and Snoop Dogg? Finally, I wonder if Frito-Lay and Hostess ran the concessions.

I get that there are ill people who find some measure of relief by smoking medical marijuana. But the aging hippies and adults in baggy pants getting high in the medicating area that KPIX news reported on don't seem like they were there for their cataracts.

The expo's very existence is owed to changing attitudes about marijuana, which has culminated in marijuana legalization being on the ballot this November. Californians will decide if adults 21 and over can possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. The law would also allow local governments to tax it.

It's time to stop pretending that we're a state with an enormously high glaucoma rate. A certain percentage of Californians enjoy marijuana recreationally whether it's legal or not. It's time to legalize. It's time to stand up to the federal government and their antiquated, futile drug laws.

No, we're not going to balance the budget with marijuana taxes. But it is revenue. Last year Oakland passed a marijuana tax on its cannabis clubs and expects to generate $300,000 this year.

Marijuana is not heroin or cocaine. It's not even alcohol or tobacco. It packs neither the lethality nor the social devastation of those substances.

But what if you just can't go that far? You're not alone. Both an AP-CNBC poll and a CBS poll say that while most support medical marijuana, a majority of Americans still oppose the blanket legalization of pot. A poll of Californians taken last year showed a majority favor legalization.

This is the time that opponents say, 'But what about the children?' No legalization law would legalize marijuana for minors. In our society, adults get to do things that are inappropriate for children.

Perhaps there's something everyone can agree on. State Sen. Mark Leno is pushing Senate Bill 1449, a bill that would make it an infraction to possess an ounce or less of marijuana incurring a fine of not more than $100.

Under current law, possession is a misdemeanor crime. That means paperwork and records. The new law would make it just a ticket. Therefore the courts aren't clogged with trivial possession cases and the reefer madness people can still feel happy that the smokers of that demon weed are fined.

If you can't bring yourself to vote to legalize, then at least take this step. Peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ADDITIONAL NOTES: Let's get the disclaimer out of the way, first. I am NOT a user of marijuana, nor do I advocate its use. Nor would I be if it were legalized. Been there. Done that. I'm fine having a Lynchburg Lemonade. I am someone who has looked at this issue for a long time and thinks it's high time to legalize.

The first thing we have to understand is that marijuana is not heroin. It's not cocaine. The 1936 classic "Reefer Madness" begins with this shocking warning:

The motion picutre you are about to witness may startle you. it would not have been possible otherwise to sufficiently emphasize the frightful toll of the new drug menace which is destroying the youth of America in alarmingly-increasing numbers.

Marihuana is that drug— a violent narcotic— an unspeakable scourge— The Real Public Enemy Number One! Its first effect is sudden, violent, uncontrollable laughter; then come dangerous hallucinations— space expands— time slows down, almost stands still… fixed ideas come next, conjuring up monstrous extravagances— followed by emotional disturbances, the total inability to direct thoughts, the loss of all power to resist physical emotions… leading finally to acts of shocking violence… ending often in incurable insanity.

We laugh at the film today but many people believe marijuana is like crack cocaine. I will not be one of those legalization advocates that says it's harmless. But we do know you can't overdose and die. We do know that it's not physically addictive (but of course it can lead to dependence like many substances). It's not going to cause you to "lose all power to resist physical emotions," nor does it cause one to commit "acts of shocking violence." Millions of users can attest that alcohol is much more harmful and socially destructive.

Marijuana is an illegal plant that nonetheless no one has any trouble getting ahold of. Most high school students could direct one where to obtain it. The war on this drug has failed. Utterly. It's a drain on resources. It's generating billions of dollars in revenue in the United States and we're not seeing any of that money.

We arrest over 60,000 Californians a year on misdemeanor marijuana charges. Think of the manpower and the hours and the paperwork surrounding all of those arrests. And for what? Are pot smokers going to stop smoking because of that arrest? Sure this is job security for law enforcement but at a time when police departments are being cut, wouldn't we rather have our cops focused on violent crimes? Sex crimes? Property crimes?

Oddly the people who are against legalization are peace officer groups and pot growers. There were weed growers from Humboldt County at the Cannabis Expo who are actively working against the legalization of marijuana because it would hurt their business. Half of the Mexican drug cartels' profits come from marijuana. So they definitely don't want Californians free to grow their own. Legalizing marijuana won't end the illegal drug trade but it would definitely make a huge impact.

Marijuana could be taxed. Local governments could tax their cannabis clubs. With the money saved on the enforcement side and the tax revenue, this could add up to serious money for local governments who've seen their coffers raided by Sacramento.

But what of the moral argument? What about the children? The truth is protecting children is important but guess what, adults matter too. We have no trouble in this society allowing things for adults that we prohibit for children. Bars and nightclubs, alcohol, tobacco, pornography, handguns, etc.... Your faith may lead you to oppose marijuana usage and that's fine. But this is a secular issue.

I think too often when we talk about legalizing marijuana, the opponents see a world where it's legal for drug dealers to deal on the streets, airline pilots and bus drivers will be high and every where you look, someone will be using a bong. We're talking about legalization for private use. It would still be illegal to smoke and drive. That's ridiculous.

For those who drink alcohol and oppose the legalization of marijuana, there was once a time when your drug of choice was illegal. And people looked down on those who drank. Prohibition didn't work because the public wanted to drink. Well, the public wants to smoke. The public is smoking.

Why should someone smoking marijuana in their own home in their free time be considered a criminal? At least it should be decriminalized.