BILLIONAIRES THREE LESS THAN HONEST ON POT PROP.

Twice before, the Billionaires Three have gifted us with their Trojan-horse
ballot propositions: drug initiatives sold one way in commercials but
written far differently on the ballot. Twice before, this trio has hidden
behind cancer patients and won at the polls. On Tuesday, we see if the
third time is the charm.

The Billionaires Three are New York financier George Soros, Ohio insurance
magnate and self-described "functional pothead" Peter Lewis and the
Valley's very own John Sperling, made rich by his founding of the
University of Phoenix. This election cycle they've given us Proposition
203, which their flacks and TV ads tout as all about "medical marijuana."

This isn't a lie, exactly. In its 10 pages, 203 does mention medical
marijuana. It's just that this proposition mentions so much else, so much
that many voters likely will never read it.

For starters, there are the paragraphs where it decriminalizes not just
pot, possession of up to 2 ounces would now be punishable by a $250
quasi-traffic ticket, but also crack, PCP, heroin, meth and most every
other drug imaginable.

No joke. Me, I'd vote yea on the pot statute but all the other drugs?

As 203 puts it, "any person who is convicted of the personal possession or
use of a controlled substance . . . is eligible for probation. The court
shall not impose any sanction that includes incarceration in prison or jail
as a condition of probation. The court shall suspend the imposition or
execution of sentence and place such person on probation."

So what can a judge do if our reluctant crack addict violates probation or
refuses to go to court-ordered treatment?

Not much. Under 203, jail will not be a possibility until after your third
conviction for possession of most any drug.

"We don't jail our drunks," explains cancer patient and 203 spokesman Josh
Burner. "We shouldn't have to jail the drug abusers and drug users."

By the way, speaking of Burner, he and his sophisticated schnoz may have to
play an integral role in drug safety if 203 passes.

See, the proposition will have the state Department of Public Safety
passing out free marijuana to those who qualify to use it for medical
purposes. Where would the pot come from? Mainly from confiscated pot seized
by local police departments. This pot will obviously have to be tested
before it's passed out, to avoid lawsuits filed against the state by those
given weak or laced dope.

The cost of such testing to our cash-strapped state government? As yet it
"cannot be estimated," according to the fiscal impact summary in the ballot
proposition handbook. Burner scoffs at such concerns.

"With my experience as a pot buyer since 1995, I could probably go to work
for Eddie Basha in his produce department," he says. "I can smell that
marijuana just like a police officer can, and you can smell if it's got a
problem."

That ought to be enough to satisfy the courts in the event of a medical
marijuana death, don't you think?

Honestly, though, you have to feel bad for those like Burner, cancer
patients being used by the Billionaires Three.

If their proposition was simply about medical marijuana, it would be an
easy call.

A recent Time magazine poll pegs Americans' support of medical marijuana at
about 80 percent. Who would want to deprive those in pain of a solution?
Not me and probably not you.

It's what they call a no-brainer. Not unlike voting against those who would
deprive you of the full truth.