TAXES ASIDE, LEGAL POT WOULD COST US DEARLY

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United
States. It damages the lungs; impairs memory, concentration and
motivation; and contains more carcinogens than cigarettes. However,
California is economically in the tank, and this may be a boon for
those who believe that smoking pot is "no big deal" and want
marijuana legalized.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has introduced Assembly
Bill 390, which removes all criminal penalties for personal marijuana
possession and cultivation for adults over age 21, allows persons 21
or older to grow up to 10 mature plants, and makes possession and
sales of marijuana paraphernalia legal for adults 21 and up.

According to Ammiano, efforts to eradicate marijuana have not
succeeded, so it is time to bring "a major piece of our economy into
the light of day."(0x00A0)In other words, if at first you don't
succeed, give up. Other ballot initiatives in recent months indicate
that California potheads have found their voice and, since the state
needs money, lawmakers are listening.

If taxed like cigarettes and alcohol, marijuana could generate an
estimated $100 million a year, with additional savings in law
enforcement resources. These funds would ameliorate California's
budget issues. However, when the smoke clears, the collateral damage
from the government pimping dope will exceed the monetary benefits of
retailing and taxing it.

California, fraught with inept government and a populace bent on
pushing every sociopolitical limit, cannot afford to be dumbed down
by legislators championing drug use to make a buck. The big question
is not whether marijuana use for recreation is unhealthy and
dangerous, which it is, but whether the right to do self-harm is a
civil right and, if so, if all drugs should be legal for personal use.

One argument purports that drug use is a victimless crime; after all,
the user is not necessarily recruiting or dosing others. Moreover, if
we follow the Roe v. Wade model, people have the right to control
their own body and should be able to alter their consciousness
however they see fit. If marijuana is legalized, then this opens the
door to all illicit drugs - there is no ideological difference
between any of them even if the physical consequences vary.

No man is an island and the actions of one create a ripple effect.
Drug use is an indolent way to alter or avoid reality, and abusers
become less and less of a viable resource. Consequently, addicts
become a drain on society, as individuals, employees, students and
parents, and this makes them everybody's problem, especially in this
new age of universal bailout.

The arguments for legalizing marijuana cite the legitimacy of alcohol
and nicotine, the high rates of crime and the cost of enforcement
caused by the prohibition of illicit drugs. Alcohol and nicotine
abuse already exact a hefty medical, financial and sociological
price. It is neither right nor necessary to endorse yet another
substance that will create more addicts and further drain.

It is more than reasonable to enforce dealing and smuggling laws and
continue to discourage drug use. If this were not the case, then why
does Assembly Bill 390 contain a hypocritical clause levying a
$50/ounce excise tax earmarked for state drug education and treatment
programs? A percentage of the taxes on cigarettes and alcohol fund
drug and alcohol education. Promoting a new drug, so that it can be
taxed, so that the taxes can be used to discourage the drug use is
just asinine.

Marijuana is medically useful in alleviating pain and certain medical
conditions. However, board-certified physicians, not yahoos with
Kool-Aid stands writing "prescriptions," should regulate dispensing -
in pill or inhalant form. Neighbors with their prescriptions, pot
farms, uncut pit bull "pets" and multitudes of "friends" are blights
on any community.

It is right to continue the war on drugs, even when the costs are
high. It is illogical to expect to win it completely, but the fight
is a worthy one. It is absurd to take the low road and promote a drug
known to distort perceptions, impair coordination and adversely
impact memory and learning. As Jefferson Airplane said in their song
"White Rabbit," "When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead ..
Keep your head!"