ALL IS NOT MELLOW IN CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TO LEGALIZE POT

The more I learn about medical marijuana, the more I think pot should
never be legalized in California.

Too many people already abuse the state law intended to aid the truly
sick by legalizing pot use for people with a doctor's recommendation.

The idea that all pot could be sold legally and taxed for profit is fantasy.

We've seen cigarettes abolished in the workplace, restaurants and
bars -- but somehow pot smoking is OK? At least tobacco companies are
regulated by federal standards.

When you buy dope, how do you know what's in it? How do you know that
the distribution chain isn't soaked in blood?

Consider the events in Nevada County a week ago. According to law
enforcement authorities, a down-on-his-luck Elk Grove contractor
decided to score financially by robbing a big stash of marijuana.

On Jan. 2, Timothy Daniel Fitzpatrick and an accomplice allegedly
stole more than 50 pounds of pot at gunpoint -- while dressed in fake
cop uniforms and claiming to be drug agents.

One of the guys who investigators say was tied up in the heist was
able to break free and give chase. Authorities say their vehicles
careened while flying down Highway 49. There was gunfire.

In the movies, outlaws and high-speed chases are almost always
romantic. In real life, it's amazing that only Fitzpatrick was killed
when his Ford F-250 pickup slammed into a tree.

Pot-fueled robberies are happening in greater frequency in Nevada and
Humboldt counties, where marijuana cultivation is on the rise. In
Sacramento, as well.

Why? Because it's a cash business guarded by guns.

Do you really believe that taxing pot will change this sordid dynamic?

And do you really believe the Mexican cartels and illegal growers
will willingly turn their profits over to Mr. California Taxman?

After all, what drug dealer wouldn't want to lend his cash to help
pay for your kid's school?

Because marijuana is illegal at the federal level, one can imagine
California becoming a favored destination for drug buyers -- and an
exporter of drug dealers.

Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal said he already gets calls from
police agencies across America who have busted Nevada County pot
dealers who took to the road.

Funny, when I voted for medical marijuana in 1996, I remember
thinking it would give legal cover to AIDS patients, cancer victims,
glaucoma sufferers and people afflicted with anorexia or arthritis.
Those maladies were cited prominently in campaign literature.

Instead, medical marijuana is being used as illegal cover for
criminals and meatheads.

Maybe the answer would be a patch or pill where the medicinal
ingredients of cannabis could soothe sufferers without intoxicating them?

But then everyone knows that the point -- for most users -- is just
getting high.