COLORADO FIGHTING THE WRONG PLANT

Much as I hate to disagree with my state representative, Tom Massey of
Poncha Springs, it is time for our legislature to take "free-market"
principles seriously, and take our state totally out of the
marijuana-enforcement business.

Cannabis ought to be like any other plant grown in Colorado. You and I are
free to cultivate, buy and sell alfalfa, potatoes or chili peppers. Why
should marijuana be any different?

The benefits of flat-out legalization are numerous. Local and state
government budgets are tight these days, and there have to be better uses
for our tax dollars than the millions we spend on enforcement, prosecution
and incarceration.

The current "medical marijuana" controversy just adds to the complication
- -- as well as the cost, since "licensed growers" aren't going to welcome
unbridled competition that would lower prices. But that's their problem;
why should it be anyone else's?

As for the violence and corruption that accompany prohibition, that's a
result of the big profits to be made by dealing in substances made
artificially scarce. To put it another way, when was the last time you
heard of a gunfight over a bale of hay, or a bribe to transfer a bushel of
potatoes?

Granted, there are objections, but they don't stand up well.

* The law-enforcement community wants tighter regulation, or even a return
to outright prohibition. Of course. But this isn't because they're
concerned about public safety. It's because they're concerned about
keeping their jobs and expanding their bureaucracies. The more things that
are illegal, the more work there is for them.

In other words, we are naturally skeptical when educators tell us they
need smaller classrooms and longer school days and terms, which means more
teachers and higher pay. So why aren't we just as dubious about sheriffs
and police chiefs who crave bigger budgets? I don't blame them for wanting
more money and power -- we're all tempted along that line -- but let's
drop the pretense that it has anything to do with improving the public
welfare.

* Legalization would send the wrong message to children. The main message
from the current system -- the futile and expensive War Against a Plant
- -- is that America is run by hypocritical morons. How could legalization
present a worse message?

* It would make our highways more dangerous, and we already have trouble
enough with alcohol. For one thing, that's really an argument for better
public transportation and improved pedestrian facilities, so that people
feel less of a need to drive under various influences.

For another, I confess to having ridden with drivers who were ripped to
the gills, back in the day. Somebody who putts along at 4 miles per hour,
and pulls over frequently on account of the confusion from all those
glaring lights, is certainly an annoyance on the road. But he's not a
serious threat to life or limb, and our police are certainly capable of
noticing such behavior and acting appropriately.

Driving while intoxicated or impaired is and should be illegal -- no
matter what the intoxicant.

* Marijuana is still illegal under federal law. So let the feds enforce
it. We have better things to do with our state's limited financial
resources.

Add it all up, and the arguments against full legalization don't hold much
water.

But doubtless there are Coloradans who honestly believe the state should
put its resources into fighting a plant. They're welcome to go after the
water-sucking tamarisk along some of our river banks. And there's Kentucky
bluegrass, the stuff of lawns that inspire expensive storage and diversion
projects with associated environmental degradation.

So if we must attempt to improve Colorado by fighting plants, let's go
after the truly pernicious species.