PROPONENT OF MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION LOOKS FOR 'BETTER' SOLUTIONS TO
DRUG PROBLEMS

Yreka, Calif. -- Days after the candidates for Siskiyou County sheriff
expressed their stand against legalizing marijuana, a leading
proponent of drug policy change was in Siskiyou County encouraging
residents that "there has to be a better way." Retired Superior Court
Judge James R. Gray spoke to about 25 representatives of legal
entities, social service institutions and the general public on
Tuesday about "one of the most critical issues facing the country
today" drug use, abuse and law. Gray has been a judge in Orange
County, Calif., since 1983 and is the author of "Why Our Drug Laws
Have Failed and What We Can Do About It A Judicial Indictment of the
War on Drugs."

Several times throughout the talk, Gray pointed out that, just like a
repeal of the prohibition of alcohol led to a decrease in crime and
abuse, the repeal of drug prohibition could be beneficial.

He cited examples in Holland and Switzerland.

In Switzerland sometime in the 1990s, the government began a pilot
program in seven cities where medical clinics were established to
confront heroine use in the communities. Staffed with a doctor, nurse
and mental health professional, the clinics created what was called a
"Heroine Maintenance Program." They allowed addicts to receive a
dosage of the drug low enough to keep them from going through
withdrawals as long as they stayed crime free.

In less than a year, Gray said, the program was so successful that the
government decided to integrate the clinics in every city where there
was need.

Among the benefits Gray cited were a decrease in crime, including a
seven-fold decrease in shoplifting, and a plummet in drug usage
because less people were selling the product. Both of these could be
attributed to the fact that the people in the program knew that if
they were arrested doing a crime they would be kicked out of the
program, Gray said.

Employment also rose by 50 percent and the program participants'
health improved, both because the injections were at a less harmful
rate so no one overdosed and the participants built a relationship
with medical professionals that allowed them to address other medical
problems.

"We have no legitimate expectations that things will be better next
year unless we change our approach," he said. "So, what should we do?
We should look back and see what in society has worked and what has
not. And we should look at other countries to see what works and what
doesn't work there."

Regardless of whether marijuana is legal or illegal, there will always
be consequences and it will always be around, Gray said.

But just because someone is worried about their cholesterol, he asked,
should the government make fried foods illegal? "Instead of being
mortified, lets be managers," Gray said, noting that an important part
of doing so is discussing the issue. If marijuana were to be treated
like alcohol, as proposed in the California ballot initiative in
November known as "The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of
2010," several things could happen, Gray suggested:

California tax payers would save hundreds of thousands of dollars
spent each year on efforts to eradicate marijuana;

A $50 per ounce surtax and other taxes could result in nearly $1.3
billion in revenue a year, and some of that money could be used for
treatment programs for those who need it;

Marijuana would be less available to children. It's easier today for
children to get marijuana than it is to get alcohol, Gray said,
because alcohol is regulated and controlled by the government while
marijuana is obtained through drug dealers who don't ask for IDs.

"Prohibition never works as well as regulation and control. ... You
don't see students on high school campuses selling Jim Beam bourbon or
Marlboro cigarettes, do you? But they sell marijuana all the time,"
Gray said. "This is far too dangerous to leave to the drug dealers."

The hemp industry could be revitalized;

The medical marijuana issue and problems that have come with it would
go away; and

Consumption could go down once it's decriminalized.

"The Minister of Health in Holland ... reported that they had half the
consumption the U.S. does, both for adults and teens. Why? Because,
essentially, Holland succeeded in making pot boring," Gray said. "We
glamorize it by making it illegal."

When an audience member inquired as to whether or not decriminalizing
marijuana could lead to a rise in homegrown products and cartel
activity, Gray said that under the initiative, cities would decide how
the product could be grown and distributed. There would still be room
for prosecution if someone violated those regulations. And governments
could get rid of illegal distribution by undercutting their prices, he
said.

"It won't be a perfect system there's always going to be some
problems ... but it could be a lot better than it is today," Gray said.

When asked where the bridge would be between the current system that
keeps children safe from houses where there is drug abuse and a new
system, Gray said it would be up to the voters. But just because the
drug would be legal doesn't mean the end of a safe system.

"You can hold people accountable for their actions and not put the
blame on what's in their body," Gray said, explaining that someone can
drink alcohol and it's fine until they decide to get in a car and end
up killing someone. "If you need to take a child out of a situation,
by all means, do. But we don't need drugs to be illegal to do it."

Gray told attendees he didn't want to give the impression that he
thinks drug use doesn't cause any problems, and he said he doesn't
condone drug abuse. But the problem is that the regulations have
failed us, he said.

"I say if we hold people accountable, we can do this regardless of
whether marijuana is legal or not," he said. "I hate so much what is
happening today. ... It can only get better from here, and there can
be fewer harms. ... I recognize that there are other ways."

And if there are other ways, he said, why aren't we spending our money
on programs that work? Why is it that prison that he called the most
expensive "treatment" option is acceptable, and why isn't what makes
more sense as a medical problem, according to Gray, delegated to law
enforcement officers instead of medical professionals?

Gray said he is convinced that if this initiative passes in California
that the movement will sweep across the country. And if that happens,
maybe a better approach will arise.

"Lets talk smart on drugs instead of talking tough on drugs, because
the tougher you talk, the softer the prosecution," he said.

In the end, it won't be easy, but something new needs to happen, he
said.

"This problem doesn't have a solution. Most human problems don't have
a solution ... only a resolution. ... We have to make the best
response we can," he said. "I guarantee you that, in two years,
everyone will look back and be appalled that we had such a system in
place. It's time to come up with something better."

For more information about Gray and his stance on this issue, visit
www.judgejimgray.com.