REEFER SANITY ... FINALLY

WASHINGTON -- In an act of merciful sanity, the Obama administration
has made good on its promise to stop interfering with states that
allow the medical use of marijuana.

Clink-clink, hear-hear, salud, cheers, et cetera, et
cetera.

The announcement from Attorney General Eric Holder surely comes as a
relief to the many who rely on cannabis to ease suffering from various
ailments. This new, relaxed approach doesn't let drug traffickers off
the hook. It merely means that 14 states that now provide for some
medical marijuana uses no longer need fear federal raids on
dispensaries and users operating under state law.

It's a good move, long overdue. But is it enough? Not
quite.

The debate over whether Americans ought to have the right to be stupid
- -- or to make other people seem more interesting -- continues apace
after 40 years of the (failed) "war on drugs."

Arguments for and against decriminalization of some or all drugs are
familiar by now. Distilled to the basics, the drug war has empowered
criminals while criminalizing otherwise law-abiding citizens and
wasted billions that could have been better spent on education and
rehabilitation.

By ever-greater numbers, Americans support decriminalizing at least
marijuana, which millions admit to having used, including a couple of
presidents and a Supreme Court justice. A recent Gallup poll found
that 44 percent of Americans favor legalization for any purpose, not
just medical, up from 31 percent in 2000.

The highest level of support, not surprisingly, is in the Western
states and among self-described liberals, with 78 percent of liberals
favoring decriminalization. But the shift toward a more-sensible
national policy is no longer confined to the left. Nor is the
long-haired stoner the face of the pro-pot lobby. Today's activist,
more likely, doesn't have facial hair, but she does have kids.

Lately to the smallish conservative crowd, notably once led by
anti-prohibitionist William F. Buckley, is Jessica Corry of Colorado,
a married, pro-life Republican mom, soon to be "freedom fighter of the
month" in High Times magazine.

Recent partakers undoubtedly will have to rub their eyes for a
double-take when they spot Corry, who spoke last month at a NORML
conference (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) in
San Francisco, wearing an American flag lapel pin, a triple strand of
pearls and a gold marijuana leaf pin.

Another day, another stereotype in the dust bin.

In addition to writing and speaking to end marijuana prohibition,
Corry, who does not smoke pot, is trying to organize Republican women
around the cause. So far, she has commitments from 20 fellow
Coloradoans, most of them lawyers, like Corry. Her husband, also an
attorney, represents medical marijuana users.

Corry's arguments focus not only on the inhumanity of further
punishing sick people who seek relief through pot, but also on
protecting her own children should they decide to try marijuana
someday. There's nothing like imagining one's own children as
"criminals" to put irrational laws in perspective.

Corry is hardly alone and, in fact, may be part of a "toking point."
(Is there a drug yet for "Tipping Point Fatigue"?) In its October
issue, Marie Claire magazine featured "Stiletto Stoners" about
accomplished career women who prefer to relax with pot. A September
Fortune cover story, "Is Pot Already Legal?" examined the issue. In
April, former (2006) Miss New Jersey, Georgine DiMaria, outed herself
as a stealth marijuana user to treat her asthma.

States' rights and conservatism are old friends -- except when they're
not. While many Republicans nurse a libertarian streak, the party has
been selective in its support of federalist principles. The George W.
Bush administration refused to honor states authorizing medical uses
of cannabis, for instance, but aimed to return abortion and marriage
issues to state jurisdictions.

In a column for the Colorado Daily, Corry argued that conservative
principles of smaller government are in direct conflict with laws that
try to control what we put into our bodies. Alcohol and cigarettes --
not to mention 700-calorie cheeseburgers -- are inarguably more harmful
than a little reefer, she wrote.

The decision not to raid dispensaries or punish people who benefit
from marijuana use, though commendable, falls short of what's needed.
At the very least, when jobs and cash are in short supply, legalizing
marijuana would seem both prudent and profitable.

In 1929, the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform led
the movement to end alcohol prohibition. Might women lead the next
revolution in personal autonomy?

Keep those flutes and snifters (and bongs?) handy.