A DEBATE HALF BAKED

If like me you consider the war on drugs futile and destructive,
don't be fooled by Colorado's new marijuana dispensary boom. It's bad
news. And this bad news begins with a dishonest debate.

Pot advocates - many of whom I have written glowingly about in the
past - have no misgivings about claiming that ganja will alleviate
suffering and sickness, scare away bedbugs and mow your lawn. The
fact is there is little evidence proving pot has any real medicinal
value - outside, perhaps, of helping with nausea or decoding the plot
of "Battlestar Galactica." Pretending we know otherwise may elicit
empathy from the public, but it is a flimsy way to build policy.

What happens if in the near future an exhaustive Harvard medical
study uncovers proof that the medicinal qualities of pot are piddling
or even damaging? (As of now, the Drug Enforcement Administration
refuses to allow much exhaustive research on the topic.)

After examining the existing science, in fact, The New York Times
recently concluded, "There is no good scientific evidence that
legalizing marijuana's use provides any benefits over current therapies."

Would overwhelming proof of pot's therapeutic impotence change my
mind about an individual's right to seek the kind of treatment (even
imaginary) he or she deems helpful and necessary?

Of course not. I would argue that this should be a debate about the
role of government in our private lives, not a case that is
contingent on the vagaries of public perception, emotion and evolving evidence.

It is equally grating - not to mention a full-scale assault on
reality - for pot advocates to pretend that every one (or even most)
of the thousands of Coloradans on the list for medical marijuana is
in frantic need of Skunk Weed to ease grave physical suffering.

Few believe it - nor should they. Many of those who voted for the
2000 Colorado constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana
for people with serious ailments, in fact, might feel like their
compassion has been betrayed.

Though I sympathize with some incremental form of legalization, the
transparently insincere debate and the anarchy of the present
situation has allowed drug warriors like Colorado Attorney General
John Suthers to scaremonger about "de facto" legalization and
lawmakers to craft ridiculously intrusive legislation.

The medical marijuana bill sponsored by state Rep. Tom Massey and
Sen. Chris Romer will not only create economic incentives to continue
the drug war (as dispensaries will now have cause to oppose
legalization) but it also would set a number of harmful regulatory precedents.

On the dispensary side, everything is regulated. Everything. Logo.
Signage. Placement. Crop size. On the government side, nearly
everything is subjective - left to the good graces and moral
sensibilities of a government official. (Ironically enough, the law
includes a "good moral character" component, which should induce
legislators to recuse themselves from the process immediately.)

In a political sense, this deal does nothing to further the case
against the war on drugs, though it may help with the opposite. What
it will surely do is enrich a few dispensary owners by creating
mini-government-backed-and-taxed monopolies.

As it stands, perhaps going back to the decentralized caregiver model
would be the best course of action for everyone involved. The fight
for something more constructive, and more honest, can be fought another day.