IT IS TIME FOR SOME FRANK TALK ABOUT LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank is proposing a bill that would remove
federal penalties for possession and use of small amounts of marijuana.

Why do we need a federal bill?

Because the rest of the country is far behind Alaska, California,
Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York,
North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon in decriminalizing the herb, with
Michigan on the verge of approving a similar bill. We need a federal
bill because we need to put an end to this fruitless, expensive
prohibition once and for all.

We need a federal bill because of the growing number of people across
the nation who are clamoring for the legalization of marijuana for
medicinal and recreational uses.

We need a federal bill because the prohibition of marijuana is rooted
in racism, fear and greed, not science.

The Cliff Notes version of a piece written for the Virginia Law Review
on how marijuana became illegal begins in about 1910 with a cast of
characters that runs the gamut from migrant farm workers to polygamist
pot smokers; from Pancho Villa to William Randolph Hearst; from the
nation's first drug czar Harry Anslinger - who led a vicious,
unfounded assault on marijuana - to the DuPont chemical company. (For
the full story on why and how marijuana became illegal, go to
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/LIBRARY/studies/vlr/vlrtoc.htm;
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm and
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html)

Frank's proposal would eliminate all federal penalties prohibiting the
personal use and possession of up to 3i)UKP1a,,2 ounces of marijuana.
Adults who consume marijuana would no longer face arrest, prison or
even the threat of a civil fine. In addition, the bill would eliminate
all penalties prohibiting the not-for-profit transfers of up to one
ounce of cannabis between adults.

This bill is based on the 1972 National Commission on Marijuana and
Drug Abuse study commissioned by then-President Richard Nixon, which
reported that "the use of drugs for pleasure or other non-medical
purposes is not inherently irresponsible; alcohol is widely used as an
acceptable part of social activities," and added, "the actual and
potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify
intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior."

Pot was once described as a gateway drug that would lead our children
on a path to dangerous drugs. Today's kids, however, are finding it
easier to raid the family medicine cabinet to get high.

We are also finding that the medicinal use of marijuana can be
beneficial to those with serious medical conditions, from
life-threatening diseases to chronic pain.

Marinol, some experts say, is a good compromise because it's marijuana
in pill form and, believe it or not, it's something your doctor can
prescribe for you without the DEA crawling all over him.

But, it is cost prohibitive and researchers and patients are finding
that because the cannabinoids used to manufacture marinol are so
concentrated, they feel like they are either getting too much or not
enough of the drug. Those who go for the herb claim they can better
regulate their dose by toking on a joint or hitting on a vaporizer
because the effects are more immediate and effective.

It's time for our leaders to remove the cultural and nonsensical
reasons for the prohibition on marijuana and pass Frank's bill.