SHOULD POT BE LEGALIZED?

We don't think we'd be accused of "smoking weed" to venture that
Santa Cruz would solidly be in favor of the state of California
legalizing marijuana.

State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill
that would regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years
old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis. All these
activities are illegal under federal law, which probably would not be
affected by state legalization, which also is unlikely for the present.

Ammiano says taxes and other fees associated with regulating pot
could put more than a billion dollars a year into state coffers at a
time California really needs the money.

Here's a couple of points to think about in favor of legalizing weed:

The drug would be highly regulated. Does anyone believe kids don't
have easy access to marijuana today? Or that it's easier to get than,
say, alcohol?

Legalizing pot would end costly anti-drug programs and cut down the
criminal element associated with smuggling and selling pot.

In Santa Cruz, where voters have already directed the city to make
enforcement of marijuana laws its lowest priority, and where
dispensing medical marijuana continues despite opposition from the
federal government, the world has not ended, nor has public safety
visibly been endangered.

The widespread use of readily available pot -- hello, Michael Phelps
- -- has fostered a contempt for laws people don't agree with.

The Prohibition movement nearly a century ago that made booze illegal
is instructive: the government cannot successfully regulate personal behavior.

But the arguments against legalizing marijuana also are persuasive.

It's unlikely the federal government would just stand by. The feds
have so far refused to recognize local decisions concerning legalized
medical pot, so why would they approve recreational use of the drug?
President Barack Obama, who has admitted drug use in his youthful
past, has stated he is not in favor of legalization.

The last thing our society needs is another means for addictive
personalities to sink further into oblivion.

While pro-pot proponents always say that marijuana is not addictive,
most of us know people who have spent too many years toking up. This
addictive use of the drug changes their behavior and personalities
and can lead to wide-ranging personal problems that end up having a
huge cost to society.

Is marijuana as dangerous as alcohol? Based on the statistics about
auto accidents, domestic violence and other anti-social behavior, the
answer clearly is "no."

It's worth considering making it legal.