CANNABIS CAT AND MOUSE

Pushing 60 now, I've long been tired of the cat-and-mouse game that
using cannabis invokes. I totally lost any respect for the law at a
tender age. Faith in government? What, the government that wants to
see me in a cage? The prohibition has been quite corrosive on my and
many of my comrades' patriotism.

We can restore respect for law, and law enforcement, as well as faith
in the American way by ending this prohibition. We could even end up
like the Dutch--who've managed to make pot boring in the eyes of that
country's youth and whose rates of use are but a small fraction of
ours.

The war on cannabis has its roots in racism, and is now the new Jim
Crow. It has been a handy cudgel to whup on Mexicans, blacks and those
darn hippies. Despite the claims, it has never had anything to do with
public safety.

This war on our own citizens can be ended. The passage of Prop. 19
will force a large crack in the dike. Much of the delay, deceit, and
obfuscation seen after the passage of Prop. 215 should be neutralized
by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's recently introduced legislation to create
a uniform statewide regulatory system. "If 19 passes, we'll be ready,"
he asserts. Prop 19 includes language that allows modification by the
Legislature. This was missing in 215.

My ballot is marked Yes. I hope yours is, too.

Jay Bergstrom

Forest Ranch