THE TRUTH IN CALIFORNIA

I know a number of judges and doctors. The good ones have some respect
for the truth. Not so with Bill Schuette and Daniel Michael. Their
first misstatement was that California has seen a dramatic increase in
drug use because of Prop 215. The truth is that teen use of marijuana
has actually dropped since Prop 215 was passed.

Their second bogus statement was that California is in "chaos" because
a security guard at a marijuana dispensary was killed. If this
reasoning made sense, then liquor stores should be banned everywhere.

I have gone to many of these dispensaries and interviewed store owners
and their neighbors. In every case, the stores were either not noticed
or were a welcome addition to the local community. In some cases, the
stores are anchor tenants that have filled empty storefronts and
brought new business to the neighboring businesses. Many of their
neighbors mentioned they especially appreciated the fact that the
stores spent a lot of money on security, including video cameras that
watched common areas for all the businesses.

Clifford A. Schaffer

Director, Schaffer Library of Drug Policy

Agua Dulce, Calif.