AUTHOR GIVES STRAIGHT DOPE ON MARIJUANA

Paul Armentano wouldn't be surprised if he could sniff the
unmistakable aroma of marijuana during his noon talk Saturday in the
Joseph Room at JFK Library. Conversely, he would also understand if
some folks showed up with his face on a bull's eye.

And that's the point, said the long-time pro-legalization advocate,
who discusses and signs copies of the book he co-authored, "Marijuana
Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?"

"I encourage different audiences," Armentano said. "Preaching to the
choir gets pretty old fast. This is about an objective discussion
about our current policy. I don't mind people voicing divergent
opinions. Obviously, we've not come as a society to a consensus."

Armentano will answer questions about Assembly Bill 2254, the
Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act of 2010, that's on
the November ballot.

"All too often marijuana is guided by rhetoric, guided by ideology,
and scare tactics that's led to failed policy," Armentano said. "What
we need to have is a logical, rational policy that says 'Marijuana is
already here.'"

Armentano said his book wouldn't have been written "if tens of
millions of Americans hadn't continued to use marijuana despite
prohibition. I'm not talking about adding another vice to society.
I'm talking about how do we come to terms with a vice that already
exists. We don't regulate alcohol because it's innocuous. We regulate
it because we recognize the potential for harm. The same principle
applies to marijuana."

Armentano acknowledged the stigma and stereotype linked to marijuana
users, "but, clearly, marijuana's popularity speaks to the fact that
people from all walks of life use it."

Armentano believes if legalized, marijuana, like alcohol, needs age
restrictions.

"Marijuana is a mind-altering substance," he said. "And, like any
mind-altering substance, the user has to have a certain level of
maturity to understand how to use that substance responsibly and
needs to understand the difference between use and abuse. At what age
is hard to say. Clearly, it's not a one size fits all.

In attempting to maintain a standard, it should be 21 as with
alcohol, Armentano said.

Marijuana's legality or not hasn't limited its use, Armentano said.

"The fact the drug is illegal isn't at play. It's never prohibited
access to those who want it," he said. "Few people out there are
saying, 'I want to use it now but I'm not because it would be
breaking the law.'"

There are two groups of marijuana users, Armentano said.

"A lot of people, at the end of the day, need to just come home,
relax and calm down," Armentano said. "People do that differently.
Some have one or two glasses of wine, some have prescription drugs
and some prefer marijuana. Some come home and go to the gym. "

Others, said Armentano, "use it to enhance some sort of social
experience, like music, a party, dinner. It's no different from those
who might drink wine or have a beer."

As for smoking marijuana for its "coolness factor," Armentano said "I
don't think anyone over the age of 25 smokes marijuana because it's a
'forbidden fruit.'"

It's the prohibition of marijuana that makes it "cool" for young
people, said Armentano, who believes the drug cartels in Mexico
wouldn't exist or would be drastically curtailed if marijuana were
legalized in the United States.

"Where's the market? When you're making money selling an illegal
subject, you're going to produce it and sell it the largest market.
And in he U.S., that's marijuana," Armentano said.

If passed, AB2254 would net the state $1.4 billion in tax revenue,
reported the legislative analyst.

Still, believed Armentano, "I don't think a 'sin tax' on any
commodity is going to overnight change the economic reality of a
town, city, county or state."

Yet, he said, "cities are having discussions now that they weren't
having a few years ago and the reason is economic realities."

Armentano said he's been a pro-legalization advocate for 20 years
because of the money supporting law enforcement and the number of
people arrested for marijuana.

"We've arrested 20 million people since 1975 for a marijuana offense
and 90 percent of those are for simple marijuana possession. It
doesn't make sense," Armentano said. "This prohibition is costing
billions of dollars and mucking up the lives of a lot of people."

If you go

Who: Paula Armentano, co-author of 'Marijuana is safer: So Why Are We
Driving People to Drink?'

Where: Joseph Room, JFK Library, 505 Santa Clara St., Vallejo

When: Saturday, noon

Admission: Free

Info: Nancy Atkins, 1-866-572-7587