A LOT OF 'SPLAININ' TO DO? NOT, THANKFULLY

Thankfully, Proposition 19 didn't pass. It's a good thing, too, or
someone would have had, as Ricky would say, "a lot of 'splainin' to
do." Imagine my seventh-graders' confusion when, the week before, I'd
pushed drug abstinence for Red Ribbon Week.

Ironically, as commentators debated legalizing marijuana, schools
celebrated Enrique "Kiki" Camarena's dream "to make a difference."
When Kiki left Mexico and his dirt-floor house for America as a
9-year-old, he picked fruit. Eventually, he attended school and won
"best all-around senior." Then, after graduating from college with a
criminal justice degree, he became a naturalized citizen.

Next, Camarena joined the Marines and, later, the police force. That
led him to the DEA, where he lived among the Mexican cartels and
seized thousands of pounds of cocaine and even more marijuana. As he
was about to expose a multibillion-dollar drug pipeline, five men
yanked Kiki from his car in broad daylight. Searchers found his
tortured body a month later.

In 1988, Congress created National Red Ribbon Week to honor Kiki and
promote a drug-free America.

Fast forward to 2010. Prop. 19, which would have made marijuana use
legal, is narrowly defeated. Activists vow a 2012 rematch, claiming:

1. "Sick people need marijuana." Fact: Proposition 215 made medical
marijuana legal. Doctors write prescriptions for pot to treat cancer,
anxiety, stress and even a bad mood.

2. "It's harmless." Fact: "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life"
author Dr. Daniel G. Amen says that smoking weed has the "potential
to change the perfusion pattern of the brain." He also found "focal
decreased activity in the temporal lobes ... (which) has been
associated with problems in memory, learning, and motivation."

3. "The penalty for possession is too high." Fact: When someone is
caught with weed, the punishment is similar to that for a traffic ticket.

4. "California needs tax revenue." Fact: A city taxing 25-square-foot
plots of pot is like taxing tomato gardens. This is a red herring to
sway citizens who usually wouldn't support marijuana legalization.

5. "Users don't affect others." Fact: Taxpayers foot the bill for
victimized citizens of drunk drivers and would for "high" drivers, too.

6. "Marijuana doesn't impact users' productivity." Fact: Psychiatrist
and brain image specialist Amen warns that side effects of weed are
"apathy, poor attention span, lethargy, social withdrawal and loss of
interest in achievement."

7. "Marijuana is not a 'gateway' drug." Fact: According to Amen, 98
percent of cocaine users started with pot.

Since the DEA has announced it will enforce the federal law,
California is arrogant to ram through another proposition. DEA agents
know the facts and selflessly protect America from drugs. The Golden
State should respect Kiki's sacrifice. He deserves better, and so do
the citizens of California.

No amount of 'splainin' will do away with the facts.