REGULATED CANNABIS WOULD BENEFIT SOCIETY

Having just returned from the annual conference of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in the most cannabis
friendly city in the United States - San Francisco - I found a bit of irony
in reading about allegations of cannabis smoking in a back room at BJ's
Roadside Inn in Dunn.

Cannabis, not a drug but an herb, has long been utilized as a substitute
for alcohol and other widely used addictive substances. The Netherlands has
tolerated cannabis possession, sales and consumption in coffee shops since
1976. Last November, by a 65 percent margin, voters in Oakland, Calif.,
passed Measure Z, a local initiative supporting taxed and regulated sales
of cannabis at licensed outlets in the city, and its implementation is
being explored.

Back here in Wisconsin, each day brings more sad stories of alcohol-induced
mayhem: sexual assaults, car crashes, hit and runs, fights, etc. It is
counterproductive to society as a whole to arrest people for offering a
safer alternative to alcohol and other drugs.

Regulated cannabis offers the opportunity to make Dane County a safer place
while providing tax revenues to fund social services and other programs. In
addition, it would make access easier for medical users while keeping it
out of the hands of children. Rather than spend the $10,400 NORML says it
costs for each marijuana arrest, isn't it time to think outside the box?

Gary Storck

Madison