REMOVE POT PROHIBITION

Misinformation for the purpose of perpetuating a lie is wrong. Most
of us were told this by our parents. And yet, today we allow
government officials to twist the truth to suit their agenda.

Case in point: Marijuana laws. These laws were not created to protect
society at large, but rather to protect the interests of those who
profit from marijuana's illegality. The feds seem to have the biggest
need to see that this plant remains against the law regardless of the
fact that individual states and the populace within see it differently.

Nevada voters have consistently been in favor of decriminalizing
marijuana. I suppose that may be the reason Washington, D.C., sent
Drug Czar John Walters to Nevada to lobby against our local
initiative back in '06. In fact, we were voting to do the right
thing-literally legalize this plant (up to an ounce for those people
21 and older).

Support for the initiative came from many sources. Perhaps the most
telling was the outspoken conformation from some 32 churches. Why?
Rabbi Myra Soifer of Temple Sinai explained it: "General moral
concern about drugs plays in the hands of those opposed to this
question. But we're also morally concerned about justice, and we
believe that Question 7 is an appropriate way to regulate the use of
small amounts of marijuana by adults." She went on to say that
marijuana should join alcohol and tobacco as a drug that the
government regulates to prevent excess.

The solution is obvious to all but the fat cats who suck on the teat
of illegality. It comes down to greed.

. The drug war is financed by taxpayers.

. The pharmaceutical industry has a keen interest in keeping pot illegal.

. Many companies benefit financially from marijuana's illegality?

. Job security for the drug warriors.

Here's the reality: "One of marijuana's greatest advantages as a
medicine is its remarkable safety. It has little effect on major
physiological functions. There is no known case of a lethal overdose.
.. Marijuana is also far less addictive and less subject to abuse
than many drugs now used as muscle relaxants, hypnotics, and
analgesics." This quote comes from the Journal of the American
Medical Association commentary.

The evidence is all very clear, and if only we stop being bullied by
the federal government, we can make a difference here in Nevada.

Think of the serious damage done to society attributed to the annual
arrest of 400,000 mostly young people on marijuana charges. I was
naive to believe that once people understood that marijuana was much
less harmful than drugs that are already legal, the laws against it
would be repealed. To this day that has not happened.