THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS: POT INITIATIVE CARRIES UNSEEN DANGERS

While making some very sweeping and, for the most part, completely
unsubstantiated statements about the drug war, Tuesday's column by
former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson ("Legalize pot to cut crime, fill
coffers") completely ignores the actual issue California voters will
be facing this November.

This marijuana initiative is like many others, financed by people who
financially benefit if it passes. Yet it differs in that it's one of
the most poorly drafted measures to ever reach the ballot.

With each passing week, yet another presumably unintended consequence
of the legal gobbledygook the proponents filed comes to light. Six
weeks ago, an analysis by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
concluded that the measure would make it impossible for employers to
enforce drug-free workplace rules. That could mean the loss of all
federal contracts and grants for California companies, universities
and local police departments.

Then we learned that bus, trucking and transportation companies would
not be able to require their drivers, pilots, conductors and engineers
to show up for work drug-free. And then we learned last week that the
drafters of the initiative were so ham-fisted that if their measure
passes, it gives inmates in our prisons and county jails the right to
both possess and smoke marijuana while incarcerated.

We all know the devastating impact drunk driving has as each year
claiming thousands of innocent lives. Yet in some areas today,
"drugged driving" may soon challenge drunk driving as the No. 1 killer
of young adults on our roads.

Get this: If this proposed initiative passes, California drivers will
be able to operate a car while under the influence of marijuana.

The initiative states smoking marijuana while driving is
impermissible, but it would be perfectly legal to smoke or ingest
marijuana immediately prior to driving.

And because marijuana stays in the body so long, police officers will
have virtually no way to prove if someone just ingested marijuana 10
minutes ago or 10 hours ago. Unlike with alcohol, there is no current
test to show the level of marijuana intoxication. All authorities can
currently do is test for the presence of marijuana. If this initiative
passes, it is perfectly fine to have marijuana in your system at any
time even while driving a school bus, taxi or light-rail train.

I would never again feel safe sending any member of my family into a
vehicle where I cannot be assured that the driver is not under the
influence of marijuana, plain and simple. The fact that Mothers
Against Drunk Driving opposes this initiative should send strong
signals to anyone thinking of supporting this measure.

Johnson's arguments simply do not apply here. In fact, I would argue
strongly that it won't only cause havoc on our roads, but it also
gives the Mexican drug cartels a safe haven to operate legally within
the United States. In fact, our law enforcement agencies say they are
already here and preparing to completely dominate this market from
production to distribution, which of course brings us to the other
provision of the measure the proponents don't want you to know.

They talk about "personal cultivation and use," as though they were
only empowering individuals to grow marijuana in their backyard. In
fact, the initiative would allow the cartels to buy up thousands of
acres of California farmland and launch large-scale operations.

At least one statement Johnson made was correct, "American border
crime is not caused by immigration. It is caused by drugs." If this
initiative passes we will see just how real that crime is as it
moves from the border to the streets of Sacramento, Roseville, Davis,
Elk Grove and Folsom. This initiative represents a major threat to our
collective public safety.

California voters will be at the forefront of this debate and,
thankfully, public opinion shows real skepticism. This is not just a
debate on whether marijuana is an unhealthy substance like tobacco or
alcohol. It is a debate on the Pandora's box of problems this
initiative presents for our daily safety and people who will fall
victim to drugged driving if it passes.

Let's have a debate, but let's make sure we're debating the actual
initiative language that the proponents wrote. It's a can of worms and
we need to defeat it.