POT CLOUDS POLITICAL JUDGMENT

Consider this. In your right hand you hold green, dried plant
material, an illegal drug believed by many to be highly dangerous, a
gateway to even more pernicious substances, a drug not suitable for
alternative court processes, and one that needs a strong, punitive,
criminal justice response.

In your left hand you hold green, dried plant material ingested by
many, recognized by state legislatures for its medicinal value,
suitable for court diversion and appropriate for humor (recall how two
state officials described a large quantity of marijuana as enough to
keep a UVM fraternity happy for a year and then some).

Alas, the marijuana paradox: a dangerous, gateway drug, yet a
substance suitable for a frat house joke. A substance consuming vast
criminal justice resources with nearly 1,800 arrests in Vermont
annually (www.dps.state.vt.us), yet one that fully one-third of
Americans want legalized (2005 Gallop Poll www.gallup.com). Can anyone
think of another area of criminal law for which so many people think
the law itself should not exist?

Why the paradox? Why the contradictions? One word: politics. Marijuana
has proven over the decades to have great political value as a wedge
issue, separating users from those who benefit from distancing
themselves from users. Whether the targeted groups were Latinos,
African-Americans, musicians, hippies, young people or those addicted
to other drugs, marijuana has served politicians well in an effort to
divide the electorate. Does marijuana cloud our judgment? Absolutely.

What an evolutionary accomplishment: A plant that not only intoxicates
those who ingest it, but also those who react to those who ingest it.

So, with what should we tackle the intoxicating influence of marijuana
on users and politicians alike? Again, one word: truth.

As a society we have seen how truth can influence and support a
decline in use of that most dangerous and addictive legal drug:
tobacco. With truth we may fairly confront the problem of marijuana
use and abuse, a problem that according to the 2007 Vermont Youth Risk
Survey has resulted in 55 percent of Vermont high school seniors
trying marijuana (http://healthvermont.gov).

As we enter this important political year with criminal justice and,
perhaps, drug policy issues prominently featured, let us all try to
avoid divisiveness, proselytizing, and demagoguery and focus instead
on science, medicine, and truth. We owe that to ourselves.

Peace.