LEGALIZING MARIJUANA: PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGGIN"

Voters in November will get the chance to legalize marijuana in
California, and we expect one of the arguments in opposition will be
what's happening in the quasi-legal arena of medical pot.

Backers announced Wednesday they had submitted the signatures of
nearly 700,000 registered voters, far more than the 433,971 valid
signatures needed to qualify the measure for the ballot.

The initiative calls for allowing Californians 21 and older to grow
and possess up to an ounce of marijuana under state law.

While the measure would not change federal law, which says marijuana
is illegal, it would give authority to local governments, which could
tax and regulate sales -- or decide not to participate.

Will voters go for it? A statewide poll last year found that 56
percent of voters backed legalization and taxation of marijuana.

Backers will certainly tout the amount of money taxing pot could
raise, money desperately needed in our troubled economy.

But, it's worth asking, since half the money the state spends goes to
public education, does it also make sense to give schools money from
pot taxes while spurring even more students to get high?

What? This measure would only allow adult use, you
say.

Does anyone believe that legalization wouldn't result in even more
kids smoking pot? Or, put another way, despite the legitimate medical
reasons for allowing marijuana sales and use for pain relief and other
doctor-approved reasons, it's hardly a surprise the system is gamed by
people seeking high-grade marijuana for recreational use.

Cities have had to face complaints and abuses arising from unregulated
proliferation of medical marijuana "cooperatives" that in some cases
have brought law enforcement problems.

Santa Cruz has proved to be at the forefront of responsibility here,
limiting the number of medical marijuana dispensaries to two and
restricting the areas where the shops can be located.

Clearly, however, the demand is there for even more outlets, which is
why Santa Cruz City Councilwoman Lynn Robinson put out a plea to other
cities to allow dispensaries to take the pressure off Santa Cruz to
supply pot.

Legalizing pot might also be viewed as anti-business. In Humboldt
County, where marijuana long ago supplanted timber and fishing as the
top local export, some growers say medical pot dispensaries have been
a drag on their profits -- although some are saying they could set up
"pot tasting" tours, much like Napa Valley with wine. Legalization,
however, would also probably deal a blow to Mexican drug cartels,
which depend on this country's insatiable appetite for illegal narcotics.

Another argument also is persuasive -- that American culture is
already saturated with drug use, starting with alcohol abuse. Adding
yet another means of mind-altering escape to people's opt-out choices
is hardly in the public health interest.

Unfortunately, for many Californians that argument was long ago
decided, which is why in many communities such as Santa Cruz,
marijuana use is mostly ignored. Laws that people disregard, willfully
and willingly, end up fostering a climate of situational ethics.