SMOKE SCREEN

Decriminalizing Marijuana Makes Sense

We heard this great hoax over Internet e-mail last week: The U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA), intrigued by a petition co-sponsored by the
pro-drug magazine High Times, had suddenly ordered that legal status of
marijuana be re-evaluated. Uh-huh. Right. Wacky cyber-geeks!

The message was forwarded to the Daily Editor, who promptly deleted it after
laughing at what seemed well-written prank. What fool would believe this
crock?

Believe it. On Dec. 19, the DEA formally requested the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) conduct a legally binding "scientific and medical
evaluation of the available data" to determine whether marijuana should
continue to be classified as a so-called "Schedule I" drug.

According to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) Schedule I drugs have a
high potential for abuse and no legitimate medical usage. The Drug
Enforcement Agency requested the HHS review of marijuana after evaluating a
petition co-authored by High Times and Jon Gettimen, former president of
NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). The DEA
concluded that sufficient grounds exist to remove marijuana from the list of
Schedule I drugs, and quietly requested that HHS examine the issue.

If marijuana is removed from Schedule I status, the federal government will
be legally required to take a regulatory, rather than a prohibitory position
on the drug.

This is an astonishing reversal of long-standing DEA policy. Until now, the
DEA has stigmatized marijuana at every opportunity, equating it with other
Schedule I drugs like PCP and heroin since the "War on Drugs" began in the
early '80s.

The legal status of marijuana is being reconsidered in statehouses around
the nation, including Washington state. California and Arizona have passed
initiatives decriminalizing pot in cases of medical need. The DEA's decision
is the latest indication that sane heads are finally taking charge of the
war on drugs.

It's about time. The "war on drugs" has made mess of our courts, our prisons
and our laws. More than half of the federal prison space is populated by
non-violent "drug offenders" serving congressionally dictated "mandatory
minimum" sentences for possession. Hundreds of billions have been spent by
the DEA on extravagant interdiction efforts. The leafy weed hasn't stopped
sprouting.

Let it grow. The drug war won't be won through intimidation or force.
Society weans itself from vice when they collectively figure out it isn't in
their best interest--when they make a rational choice. Let's hope the DEA
can do the same.