MARIJUANA VS. ALCOHOL

Within the past year, there have been two college student deaths in
Mercer County that were at least partially attributable to excessive
alcohol consumption. About 10 days ago, a major league pitcher with
Mercer County connections (he had pitched for the Trenton Thunder)
was killed as a result of having driven while being extremely drunk
(his blood alcohol content was al most twice the legal limit). All of
the principals in the above-noted deaths were white.

Significantly, none of their "friends" have been charged as an
accessory to the homicides (and perhaps appropriately so).

By contrast, within the past two weeks, black or Latino gentlemen
have been either arrested or prosecuted in the City of Trenton for
possessing a small quantity of marijuana.

In New Jersey, misdemeanor marijuana possession may be punishable by
a six-month jail term, a $1,000 fine, ancillary fees and revocation
of one's driving privileges.

And?

The time has come to start seri ously discussing the
decriminalization of marijuana -- particularly if America's love
affair with alcoholic beverages is to be allowed to continue unabated.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a fan of consuming either alcohol or
marijuana (and not because of moral or legal concerns, either.

Rather, I abstain from those two "evils" because I am -- in a word --
"cheap." Trust me, if my mood-altering -- and unhealthy -- sweetened
iced teas were ever priced like a shot of whis key or a joint, I'd
give those up, too).

It seems grossly unfair that the equally unhealthy and intoxicating
substances alcohol and marijuana are treated so differently with
respect to the sanctions that might attach for mere possession of
each. Alcoholic beverages are intoxi cants, which I see way too many
white collegians possessing (I live in Ewing, home to The College of
New Jersey and its monolithic stu dent body). On the other side of
town, I'm sure that more than a few blacks, albeit largely
non-collegians, are possessing non-alcoholic intoxicants such as
marijuana or crack.

I'm not suggesting undue tendencies for whites to get "high" as
opposed to blacks. I'm suggesting that seeming race-based preferences
for intoxicants have been treated unevenly by New Jersey's
legislators (i.e. the enactors of New Jersey's criminal code,
otherwise known as "Title 2C"). Again, in New Jersey one can be
arrested for possessing marijuana. By contrast -- with the exception
of certain instances where school properties and/or underage drinkers
are involved -- New Jersey laws do not allow for arrests of persons
known to possess an alcoholic beverage in an unopened container.

If America wants to continue its love affair with its citizens who
get "hammered" or "high," then so be it. But please may it stop the
hypocrisy whereby people who pos sess alcoholic beverages avoid
criminal sanctions while, at the same time, people possessing
marijuana are arrested and, if convicted, advised by other
authorities that -- among other compromises -- they are then forever
ineligible for federal student loans to attend either college or trade school.

The phenomenon of imposing more severe sanctions for certain
similarly criminal offenses is, unfortunately, not new. At the
federal level, for close to a decade there have been earnest debates
about reducing the disparities between the jail sentences statutorily
re quired for felons convicted of possessing crack cocaine as opposed
to those custodial terms which are imposed for individuals convicted
of possessing powder cocaine. Folks who are familiar with street
culture know that -- for better or worse -- black cocaine users tend
to disproportionally choose crack cocaine while, by contrast, white
and/or affluent cocaine users tend to prefer the drug in its powder
form. The federal experience with sentencing disparities respecting
crack versus powder cocaine might be illustrative for those inclined
to further consider my postulation that, by criminalizing marijuana
possession but not alcoholic beverage possession, blacks are -- by ef
fect -- being treated much more harshly than are whites.

Again, my postulation presumes that whites are, generally speaking,
more in clined to use alcoholic beverages as a means to getting high,
whereas similarly inclined blacks are -- again, generally speaking --
more likely to consume marijuana for such purposes.

Decriminalization of marijuana possession is the most efficient way
to minimize the disparate sanc tions imposed upon individuals known
to be in possession of either marijuana or an alcoholic beverage.

With marijuana possession convic tions leading to the loss of one's
driving privileges, ineligibility for federal loans for
colleges/trade schools, and almost certain ceilings respecting
subsequent employment opportunities, the issue of disparate
sanctioning of possessors of marijuana versus possessors of an
alcoholic beverage is one that can no longer be ignored.

If our legislators consider this issue, they should know that folks
like me are not arguing for prohibition of alcohol. Rather, we are
suggesting that if alcohol possession is legal, so, too, should be
possession of marijuana.