LEGALIZE MARIJUANA AND BE DONE WITH IT

So the new legislation “that would allow those caught with small
amounts of marijuana to avoid punishment altogether if they can
convince a judge that they used the drug out of medical necessity” is
supposed to be a “middle ground on marijuana?” Get real. This is yet
another excuse to put off what should have been done long ago:
legalization, not just for medicinal use, but for all citizens.

The fact of the matter is that marijuana is safer than alcohol or
tobacco, yet its use can cause one to lose their job, be expelled from
schools and universities, and even land in jail. We spend an enormous
amount of money to enforce marijuana laws, as evidenced by the 759,593
arrests for possession alone in 2009. That translates to huge sums of
money spent on unnecessary law enforcement and a prison population
filled with people who are hardly criminals (and are forced to survive
in a system that only creates more criminals). Regulation would also
bring in a new source of tax revenue, as well as taking a huge cash
crop away from drug cartels that terrorize Mexico and other parts of
the world.

So please, don’t insult our intelligence by telling us that the
proposed legislation is a “middle ground.” We shouldn’t even have to
establish a middle ground. The support for legalization is based in
fact, while its opponents have long used fear and lies at a great cost
to our society.

Joel Beller, Owings Mills

Pubdate: Wed, 30 Mar 2011

Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)

DESPITE MARIJUANA, BRECKENRIDGE IS PLENTY SAFE

Re. “Potheads ruining Breckenridge” by Lorie Willis, letters, March 21
I would like to thank Lorie Willis of San Antonio, Texas for her
pleasant description of Breckenridge. It is beautiful, and we do love
it here. I am concerned about a few points in her letter and would
like to share my opinion and some statistics with everyone.

Firstly it was said that Breckenridge is now unsafe due to marijuana
legalization. I went to www.neighborhoodscout.com to check the
statistics. Breckenridge scored a 74 out of 100 for safety with only
.64 violent crimes per year per 1,000 residents; where as a place like
San Antonio, Texas scored a 4 out of 100 for safety with 6.87 violent
crimes per 1,000 residents annually. Clearly Breckenridge is safer
than not only San Antonio but 74 percent of all cities nationwide!

Breckenridge residents voted over 70 percent in favor of legalizing
marijuana, up from over 60 percent in 2006 when asked at the state
level. Breckenridge residents have been consuming cannabis in high
numbers since the late 70s, and its their charm and stewardship of
this great land that attracted people like myself and Lorie to visit
and live. I would argue we shouldn’t let a misconception about our
cannabis use lead any of us away from the town of Breckenridge.

Support for legalization grows daily not only in Breck and Summit
County but in the nation and the world. As cannabis consumption rises
and alcohol abuse drops Breckenridge will only become safer and more
family friendly. As always stay classy, Breckenridge

Brian Rogers

Pubdate: Wed, 23 Mar 2011

Source: Summit Daily News (CO)

Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n000/a014.html

STOP PUTTING GARDENERS BEHIND BARS

It looks like the taxpayers of Illinois are going to be paying for
the room and board of another felony gardener. ( “Area drug agents
seize cannabis plants, suspect still at large” 3-10-11 ).

Have your local police solved all of your rapes, robberies and
murders? If not, why are they going after gardeners?

If you would regulate, control and tax cannabis, the state of
Illinois could make money off it instead of giving free housing to
non-violent gardeners.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.

Pubdate: Mon, 14 Mar 2011

Source: Journal Standard, The (Freeport, IL)

Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n000/a013.html

CRIMINAL PROHIBITION MAKES CANNABIS WORTH FIGHTING FOR

In attempting to blame cannabis consumers for black market violence
(“Violence follows industry, cops warn,” March 9), RCMP Cpl. Peter
DeVries came tantalizingly close to understanding the problem.

DeVries remarked “because of its monetary value as a commodity,
marijuana is inextricably tied to serious acts of violence.”

Indeed, criminal prohibition makes the “street value” of cannabis
worth fighting for. Additionally, black marketeers have no recourse
to the law, and must settle their own disputes. Starbucks employees
are not found left for dead by Tim Hortons employees.

We do not know what percentage of cannabis cultivators and merchants
are violent criminals, because the market is unregulated, but a
survey of Canadian prisoners serving time for high-level cultivation
and trafficking found that about 70 per cent were otherwise law-abiding.

Just as alcohol consumers supported Al Capone, and cocaine consumers
supported Pablo Escobar, if you buy cannabis (rather than grow your
own) and you do not know its origins, then you might be supporting
violent criminals. If you still support cannabis prohibition, then
you most certainly are.

Matthew Elrod

Victoria

Pubdate: Fri, 11 Mar 2011

Source: Province, The (CN BC)

Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n160/a10.html

Source: Province, The (CN BC)

DRUGS WON THE WAR

Re: Canada’s illicit drug trade growing, March 3.

So if I read this article correctly, all the billions of dollars
spent on the “war on drugs” in the United States and Canada has
resulted in a growth in the trade.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) spokesperson then
goes on to say what a “professional” job the RCMP and the Canadian
government have done in combating drug trafficking.

This raises a couple of questions: are illicit drugs harder to find
than they were 30 years ago when the “war on drugs” started? No. Has
scarcity even made the price go up? Again no.

So, in other words, prohibition has completely failed and, in fact,
has caused a great deal of harm by criminalizing a large segment of
the population for use of a relatively harmless herb (marijuana).

Compare this to the approach toward cigarettes, a legal product
guaranteed to kill 50 per cent of its consumers.

Tobacco is taxed quite heavily. Those taxes pay for education and
smoking cessation programs. And smoking rates have declined
substantially over the same 30-year period.

So, you would think that, if your real goal was to reduce illicit
drug use, the “professional” approach would be to admit that
prohibition has failed and try legalization, regulation, taxation,
and education. Of course, that might threaten those “drug and related
budgets” which the INCB insist must be maintained. If they actually
solved the problem, a whole lot of “enforcers” would need new jobs.

Scott Kelland

Merrickville

Pubdate: Sat, 5 Mar 2011

Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)

Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n147/a07.html