DRUG LAW FLAWS SHOW NEED FOR HONEST DEBATE

Marijuana is the drug of choice for more people than the general
nonsmoking population might realize, and Oregon's method of
monitoring its use for medicinal purposes is a joke. It's time to
have an honest debate about the legalization of pot.

Reporter Hannah Hoffman's stories last week detailed the state's
medical marijuana law and the legal and illegal ways in which the
drug is grown and used. She talked to advocates for its legalization,
law enforcement, pharmacists, growers and caregivers. She saw a
harvested marijuana plantation in the foothills of the Coast Range,
where the forest floor had been stripped and littered with pesticides
and garbage.

Even those who grow and dispense marijuana legally agree that
Oregon's law is rife with loopholes allowing abuse at many levels.
The original law, passed by voters in 1998, was stricter than it is
today. In 2005, the Legislature amended it to allow possession of
even greater quantities.

An effort to allow dispensaries for the drug failed at the polls last
year. We rejected that measure editorially and called for a debate
then, as well.

Let's face it: The use of natural plants as drugs is as old as
humanity. Some are helpful, such as teas and many herbal remedies.
Others, like opium poppies and coca leaves, are used to produce
dangerous and addictive drugs.

We find it easy to proclaim that cocaine, heroin, meth and other
hardcore drugs should remain illegal; we're less sure about marijuana.

At what point do we legalize a substance? How does society make that
choice, as it did with tobacco and alcohol, both of which are equally
or even more harmful than marijuana?

How do we gauge the harm? Is it measured by the detrimental effects
of the drug itself, or the destruction of lives and property
accompanying its manufacture and sale?

These aren't easy questions, but they are ethical questions.

Addiction is an ugly thing. Alcohol can be addictive for certain
people; tobacco has proven to be addictive for those who use it
regularly. Both cause deadly illnesses if abused-cirrhosis or other
liver diseases, many types of cancers and emphysema - the list is
long. Why would we want to legalize marijuana, which is said to
contain even more carcinogens than tobacco?

We don't have the answers, nor have we formed an opinion at this
point. But we do know that this country spends enormous amounts of
money to enforce marijuana laws while the drug cartels continue to
make billions of dollars in the manufacture and sale of the drug.
Does it make sense to legalize and tax the drug so that we can spend
our time and effort prosecuting those who deal in more dangerous and
deadly substances? In the end, perhaps that decision would save more lives.

We'll start the debate: Oregon's medicinal marijuana law is terribly
flawed. How we fix it deserves an honest discussion.