GETTING SENSIBLE ABOUT MARIJUANA LAWS

Decriminalizing, Regulating Cannabis Would Eliminate Black Market As
Well As Alleviate Misuse Of Tax Dollars

An act in the House of Representatives would decriminalize the
possession of 30 grams of pot, with further restrictions under
certain conditions, such as when the possessor is driving.

The vast majority of marijuana imported in the U.S. comes from
Mexican drug cartels that supply mostly to inner-city street gangs.
The herb is then distributed to neighborhood dealers before it seeps
out to the surrounding areas and the rest of the country.

For the first time in 24 years, a bill has been proposed in the House
of Representatives that is the first step to breaking this supply
chain of depravity. The "Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal
Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults" is sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul
and Rep. Barney Frank.

The zero tolerance policy for driving under the influence of
marijuana will, of course, remain. If the bill passes, it will
decriminalize pot only at the federal level. The states will be left
to decide whether or not they want to legalize marijuana.

This is the way the founding fathers intended it, when they wrote in
the Constitution that any power not granted to the federal government
is thus a power of the states. There is not a single mention of drugs
in the Constitution.

Stretching the Constitution to include commentary on drugs achieved
disastrous results. In regards to marijuana offenders, there are more
people incarcerated in the U.S. than all of the rest of the world's
prisons combined.

The amount of revenue spent on prisoners convicted of marijuana
crimes is astronomical. From the police spending hours on tedious
paperwork, to the prosecutor, the judge and the prison guards working
to put these people away, an insane amount of our tax dollars go up
in smoke. Not to mention, poor and minority populations suffer a
disproportionate amount of convictions, even when the higher usage
rates in those groups are taken in to account.

Minorities and the poor are not the only ones unfairly affected by
the marijuana laws. If a student is caught possessing pot, he or she
is no longer eligible for financial aid from the government.
Stripping students of their financial aid for possessing marijuana is terrible.

What better method than education is there to encourage good
decision-making and to help people understand the harmful effects of
their actions?

Prohibiting cultivation also has harmful consequences. It is illegal
to grow hemp in the U.S., even if the plant doesn't have the active
ingredient of the drug, tetrahydrocannabinol. There are many more
uses for hemp besides smoking it, such as clothes, rope and body
creams, just to name a few. There is even a hemp body shop that
carries products exclusively made from hemp.

Though it is illegal to grow hemp in the U.S., it is not illegal to
import products made from hemp. This is clearly an inconsistency.
Countries around the world, from Canada to Great Britain are filling
the niche of this growing market while the U.S. stands down. The
U.S., however, is increasingly sending more money overseas to pay for
these imports.

We should not discount American farmers. Hemp is also easier to grow
in arid climate and is less water-intensive than most crops, such as
corn. In a time of economic slowing, disenfranchising the U.S. from
this rapidly growing market is insensible.

An undeniable argument put forth by opponents of decriminalization is
marijuana being a cancer causer. It is true that pot has known
carcinogens and smoking anything is harmful to your lungs. However,
research from the University of California, San Francisco shows that
the carcinogenic effect is virtually eliminated when a smokeless
method known as vaporizing is used.

Over the weekend I spoke with Rep. Shelly Berkley at a fundraiser for
the American Cancer Society. Berkley represents the greater Las Vegas
area in the U.S. House of Representatives. I asked for her opinion on
the bill proposed by her colleagues. She immediately replied, "I've
always favored decriminalization."

She went on to explain that unless "Ron Paul convinced some of his
fellow Republicans," the bill will surely die before it reaches the
floor of the House.

Let us not be discouraged by the opponents of this measure. If
nothing less, a proposal like this forces people to open their eyes
to the failure of the status quo. The benefits of this idea cannot be
ignored for much longer.

There is one outcome of this bill passing that is more beneficial
than all others combined. Think back to when you were a teenager. How
hard was it for you to get a hold of marijuana? How hard was it for
you to get a hold of alcohol? The truth of the matter is that it's
easier for kids to buy pot than it is for them to buy beer.

The reason for this is simple: drug dealers don't card. This bill is
the first step to setting up a legal distribution system of
marijuana. If marijuana was allowed to enter the free market, the
criminal market would be unable to compete.

It is proven that the most harmful effects of this drug are on
developing minds. 86 percent of high school seniors admitted to the
federal government that marijuana is easy to obtain. It's high time
we lower that figure.