GOVERNOR SINGS DIFFERENT TUNE ABOUT LEGALIZING POT

Doobies were undoubtedly sparking throughout the United States a few
weeks ago when California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested it's
time to discuss legalizing marijuana in the Golden State. It seems the
stogie-puffing governor is desperate enough to solve the state's
economic woes he is willing to consider calling on Kaptain Kronic.

Hear him out, people; it's not such a "half-toked"
idea.

Stopping short of calling for a "marijuanatorium" against the federal
War on Drugs, Schwarzenegger told the media at a fire-safety event in
Davis, Calif. on Tuesday, May 5, "I think it's time for debate."

Schwarzenegger was responding to questions about a Field Poll from
April that indicated more than 56 percent of Californians support
legalizing and taxing the plant for recreational use. While no studies
have been conducted to determine the medical benefits legal weed might
provide a flailing economy, it definitely presents
thinking-out-of-the-box possibilities.

We're certain we will probably get blazed for agreeing with somebody
we've never agreed with before -- on anything -- but we read the
headlines. The state is in its worst financial dilemma in recent
memory. The rumbling we're feeling isn't one of our famous
earthquakes; it's the groan of capitalism being decapitated.

Only four weeks after his plea to start the dialogue Schwarzenegger
faces mega slashes to all levels of education, is threatening to cut
Cal Grants and just about every imaginable social service, and is
watching as unemployment burns California like an empty rolling paper.

Conservatives should welcome a concept such as being able to regulate
and tax the plant. Some marijuana advocates predict lifting the ban on
marijuana could provide tax revenues in the billions. The state could
release tens of thousands from its overcrowded prison system,
loosening up hundreds of millions spent on confinement and prisoner
health care.

One huge benefit would be cost-effectiveness. Marijuana is a
low-maintenance weed, if you erase the black market and legal
components. Because it is against the law it's a lucrative business
for the criminal element.

Many counties in Northern California largely ignore pot laws. In
counties with sparse populations like Mendocino, Trinity and Humboldt,
cannabis has become not only a cultural staple, but is an enormous
part of the local economy, supporting everything from manufacturing
plastic pipe for irrigation to garden supply stores.

Let's face it, legal or not, marijuana has truly become one of the
state's leading cash crops. It's wasteful and ignorant to turn our
backs on the potential means to right a sinking ship.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to read the Daily Forty-Niner and then
smoke it? We say that if Schwarzenegger feels it's time to open the
dialogue about simultaneously abandoning draconian laws and easing our
economic strife, let's talk.

The worst thing that could happen is the laws remain on the books,
while the state's economy goes up in smoke.