IDEA WORTH MORE STUDY

"So, California voted 'no' on the propositions," my relatives back
East said after Tuesday's election. "What ya'll gonna do?" they asked
with great concern.

California has always been on the cutting edge of technology. Now,
we're on the cutting edge of a $21.5 billion fiscal crisis.

Some elected officials have accused California of asking for a
bailout, which former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown corrected when
he appeared on CNN News this week.

We should not receive any financial help, many out-of-state residents
say, yet others believe California has been a resource for other
states and should be considered for some assistance.

Meanwhile, we still have an out-of-control budget problem that
requires immediate solutions.

Recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he's willing to study other
nations' experiences in legalizing and taxing marijuana. I have been
reading and hearing much about changing our policy so that marijuana
would be treated as alcohol is. I understand the pros and the cons,
and the pros seem to outweigh the cons. We could create jobs in
agriculture, marketing and packaging, as well as generate additional
revenue. Black youth, particularly black males, wouldn't be
incarcerated unnecessarily on pot-related charges.

However, would legalizing marijuana be a strategic solution to our
budget mess, or would it cause more problems than it would solve?

When the prohibition on alcohol was lifted, no one imagined the
additional problems it would generate. Yes, we created more revenue
and more jobs, and we stopped the killings that were happening as a
result of bootlegged alcohol. But we didn't foresee the thousands of
alcohol-related traffic accidents each year, alcohol overdoses,
alcohol addictions, alcohol-related health issues or the destroyed lives.

I asked some friends what they thought about legalizing marijuana,
and their answers were mixed.

Some felt that we would be condoning yet another substance that
presents a risk of addiction and other residual effects. One person
said she has lived with the effects of marijuana, and that it does
affect the mind and reactions.

Other friends commented that legalizing marijuana would reduce drug
trafficking and that it should be decriminalized and accepted across
the country for medical purposes with a doctor's recommendation.

Legalizing marijuana would certainly generate lots of taxes, rather
than the billions of dollars we're paying on our war on drugs, which
isn't working.

However, we cannot look only at the economics. We must thoroughly
study other nations' experiences.

Meanwhile, we must look at other budget solutions, including in our
own state officials' back yards before we try to pass around a joint.