MARIJUANA PROHIBITION HAS BECOME A LOW PRIORITY

There was a small article in Time Magazine recently about two Rocky
Mountain towns (Denver and Hailey, Idaho) that voted to make
investigation, citation and arrest of criminals caught with marijuana
the lowest priority of local law enforcement. Hailey voters even
endorsed usage of the plant for medical use and industrial hemp production.

I'm half afraid to write about this - I know it'll probably cause more
than a little eye-rolling. Even my first reaction to many pro-pot
pieces is disdain. I'll be the first to admit you hardly ever find
someone with enough time or drive to research the subject who can also
report it with proper grammar and spelling. Their hearts are usually
in the right place, they're just easily distracted. For some reason.

But I'm truly offended by anti-marijuana legislation. It's not that
I'm a pothead or an ultra-liberal (though I doubt that dispels your
suspicion), it's that I can't believe our government pours such a vast
amount of money and resources into what is essentially weed killing.
What's more, I say anti-marijuana laws cause needless suffering and
are a severe detriment to our economy and the battle against other,
more harmful, substances. Why aren't more Americans outraged by such
irresponsible governing?

The War on Drugs (though inappropriately named) is a necessary one,
and the $30-some billion annual price tag isn't too steep. Lives are
saved, after all. But about $10 billion of that is diverted toward the
battle against hemp, instead of battling other drugs, or even just
other crimes.

The money spent on the pot wars would be excusable if it was even
effective, but it isn't. Since it was outlawed, marijuana has very
possibly become America's most valuable crop, with some estimates
putting market value at around $30 billion. Americans spend as much or
more buying marijuana than the government spends fighting all drugs
combined.

I don't understand why marijuana legislation isn't a Republican issue.
From what I understand, Republicans are supposed to stand for smaller,
more efficient, more effective government. Most pot legislation seems
to show broken government.

Here's how backward things are - according to the Drug Enforcement
Administration, marijuana is more dangerous and addictive than
cocaine, opium, methamphetamine, codeine, hydrocodone and GHB, and
it's equal in both to heroin, LSD and ecstasy. To name a few.

Strangely, many of the most dangerous drugs - like alcohol and tobacco
- - are completely exempt from scheduling. I think it's because, were
they, they'd be as illegal as heroin or crack. Can you imagine any
other highly addictive substance that kills tens or hundreds of
thousands of people annually being sold at your local grocery store or
pharmacy?

Marijuana, on the other hand, is shown to have substantial medical
benefit without the danger of overdose, long-term physical damage, or
physical addiction. That's more than can be said about even Xanax or
Vicodin, two mild corporate alternatives to the dreaded weed.

So, screw all the moral aggrandizing and political speculation, sucks
to your fears of social decline - the plague is here and it's staying.
The sensible thing to do, I think, is not only reduce anti-pot
legislation, but eliminate it.

Learn a few lessons from alcohol prohibition and trust that adults are
going to act responsibly most of the time, that they can get the drug
anyway if they want it, and that legalization is the first step toward
regulation and taxation. It would eliminate criminal profits, free up
$10 billion in annual tax revenue, generate additional sales tax from
the undoubtedly considerable trade, and it would make us all a little
safer - possibly even helping in the war on terror.

Quite simply, it's the patriotic thing to do.