KERLIKOWSKE DISAGREES MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGALIZED

Ex-Seattle Chief Sees Backlash on Its Use

'War on Drugs' Over, Now It's About Public Health

Current U.S. drug czar and former Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske
said he returned to the rainy Emerald City to talk about
prescription-drug abuse, but he found that marijuana was on the mind
of Seattleites.

In an afternoon meeting with The Seattle Times editorial board, which
last month called for the legalization of marijuana, Kerlikowske said
he doesn't "think legalization arguments hold up" to scrutiny.

He reiterated the Obama administration's position against
legalization, but he said the national drug-control strategy had tried
to shift the debate to "looking at the drug problem as a public-health
problem."

Kerlikowske was in town to be keynote speaker Friday at the convention
of the Seattle-based Science and Management of Addictions Foundation.
He joked about speculation around town that he had been "dispatched"
by the White House to chastise The Seattle Times for its endorsement
of marijuana legalization. "I was going to shake my finger at you," he
said.

Outside, about 25 protesters had gathered to support the Times'
editorial position, a rare moment when protesters picket in favor of a
newspaper. "Gil, get with the Times," one sign read.

Locally and nationally, the public's attitude toward legalization is
shifting.

A Pew Research Center poll released Thursday showed 45 percent of
Americans favor legalization, up from 16 percent in 1990, while 50
percent remain opposed, down from 81 percent two decades ago.
Washingtonians are more in favor, with 56 percent in favor of
legalization, according to a SurveyUSA poll last year.

Kerlikowske said proposals to legalize and tax marijuana are
misguided. "If legalization is a way to fund the country and states
and cities, I think we're making a significant mistake when we think
it's just a benign drug."

But he also said President Obama has shifted the focus on drug policy
by describing it as a public-health problem. The administration has
asked for increased drug-treatment funding, while money for
interdiction is stagnant, Kerlikowske said.

He noted he officially called an end to the "war on drugs" after
taking office two years ago. "I don't know how you missed that," he
joked.

Kerlikowske also said there was a public "backlash" against medical
marijuana, which is legal in Washington and 14 other states and the
District of Columbia. He noted the Montana state House had voted to
repeal its law, and dozens of cities and counties in California
installed moratoriums on dispensaries.

But last week, the Washington state Senate passed a bill by a 29-20
margin that would legalize dispensaries, grow operations and food
processors. The bill is now expected to be heard in the state House,
where its prospects are less certain.

Recent amendments to the bill, SB 5073 -- that would allow
municipalities to effectively ban dispensaries, and limit medical
professionals from solely focusing on medical marijuana -- eroded
support for the bill among some medical-marijuana advocacy groups.

Police are also opposed, but like the recent changes, said Don Pierce,
executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and
Police Chiefs.

"The whole idea of dispensaries is a non-starter for us," he said.