CALIFORNIA CAN'T AFFORD TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

It's a tempting idea: Legalize and tax a commodity that a lot of
people like, collect the revenue, and reap the budgetary benefits. In
economic times like these, that might be just the formula we need to
pull us out of the red. In this case, the truth does not live up to the hype.

Legalizing marijuana will not solve our budget woes, nor will it be
good for public health. Introducing marijuana into the open market is
very likely to do some other things, however: increase the drug's
consumption, and with it, the enormous social costs associated with
marijuana-related accidents, illness and productivity loss.

The example of legal alcohol and tobacco reveal an unsettling
pattern. Legal drugs are by definition easy to obtain, and
commercialization glamorizes their use and furthers their social
acceptance. Their price is low, and high profits make promotion
worthwhile for sellers. Addiction is simply the price of doing
business. Any revenue gained from taxing these drugs is quickly
offset by the heavy costs associated with their increased prevalence.
Because today's high-potency marijuana is much more harmful than once
thought, a spike in use from legalization would result in a financial
burden California cannot afford to bear.

It is almost universally accepted in the medical community that
marijuana use is linked with mental illness. Since the appearance of
the British Medical Journal's famous 2002 headline, "Marijuana and
psychiatric illness: the link grows stronger," the research showing
marijuana's link with illnesses like psychosis and schizophrenia has
become frighteningly commonplace. In fact, researchers from King's
College in London have shown that eliminating marijuana use would
decrease the incidence of schizophrenia in the American population by
more than 8 percent.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's justification for AB 390 relies on the myth
that marijuana laws are costing taxpayers millions of dollars and
wrecking the lives of otherwise law-abiding citizens. But a closer
examination of the facts reveals a very different reality. Although
there are thousands of arrests for marijuana possession every year in
our state, most of these arrests result in little or no consequences.
Most of those who are charged with possession plead down from more
serious charges, such as trafficking. Researchers from Rand report
that many marijuana arrests result from drinking and driving
violations at alcohol checkpoints. "The police also find joints, and
then (the offender) is in jail for both offenses. People's images of
the casual (marijuana) user getting hauled off to jail are not true,"
a Rand researcher recently commented.

Rand-sponsored research reveals that in the Netherlands, where the
drug is sold openly at "coffee shops," marijuana use among young
adults increased almost 300 percent after a wave of
commercialization. The country has also become a haven for producers
of high-potency marijuana, and other drugs like ecstasy and
methamphetamine. These unintended consequences have led many Dutch
officials to advocate for rolling back the status quo.

To be sure, restricting marijuana use by law -- especially because
some people find it extremely pleasurable -- is not without its
costs. But legalizing this addictive substance would only exacerbate
our problems by increasing the harm that greater levels of use will
cause. Given the heavy costs associated with our two legal
substances, and the relatively minor costs associated with our
current restrictive marijuana policy, the case for a commercial
market for marijuana remains weak and unconvincing -- even in this
uncomfortable economic environment.