LET'S FOCUS ON REAL CRIMINALS

The deputy drug czar was in Alaska last week speaking out against the evils
of Proposition 2, the most recent attempt to legalize marijuana in Alaska.
Many of us were shocked to discover the deputy drug czar had such strong
feelings about pot. I remember saying, "Boy, that deputy drug czar really
doesn't like drugs, does he?"

I should also make one quick aside to announce that from this day forward I
wish to be identified as Valley News Czar. I prefer the C-Z-A-R spelling to
the T-Z-A-R or T-S-A-R versions, but any will work in a pinch.

Now let's get one thing straight before you read this. The Valley News Czar
is not a pot head. Let that suffice. With that behind us, let's have a
little pow-wow about marijuana and the war on drugs.

All known politicians share one thing in common. They want to continue
being politicians. In fact, the only politicians who ever vote in favor of
term limits are ones who are absolutely sure the vote has no way of
passing. Any politician who wishes to continue living on the taxpayers'
dime will never appear to be soft on drugs. Therefore, no politician will
ever sing the praises of marijuana -- even if the politician's cousin Merle
has a grow operation in the basement. Of course no politician will ever
turn down a generous donation from the tobacco industry, but that's for
another column.

The second bit of information is that, according to drugsense.org, the
federal government has spent more than $15 billion in the war on drugs so
far this year. State governments have combined to spend nearly $16 billion.
The deputy drug czar tells us that half our high school kids are sparking
up. If that sounds like money well-spent, I'd like to sell you a
promotional video for $30,000.

Nearly 600,000 people have been arrested nationwide for cannabis-related
offenses so far this year; nearly 200,000 of those have been incarcerated.
We hear that there are not enough police on the streets to combat crime,
not enough resources in district attorneys' offices to prosecute criminals,
and not enough room in prisons to house criminals. We know that many
criminals are allowed to plead to lesser offenses for reduced sentences for
those reasons. We expend a great deal of energy, money and resources to
combat marijuana, and then we allow more serious criminals to serve reduced
sentences because the system is clogged.

I'm not advocating marijuana use. I also won't advocate for alcohol or
tobacco use, and I won't encourage you to eat a high-fat diet. I don't
drive around with my seat belt off, and I also don't ask my doctor to
prescribe feel-good drugs I really don't need, but I won't tell you that
you can't do it. None of that is any of my business. During prohibition,
alcohol drinkers were put in jail following raids. Organized crime took
over the alcohol importing and sales businesses and turned them into
highly-profitable enterprises. Unfortunately, the involvement of organized
crime also led to increased violence and other peripheral crimes associated
with illicit alcohol use. Alcohol still creates many problems in our
society, but many of the worst problems disappeared with the repeal of the
18th amendment. It's no secret that prohibition never succeeded in stemming
the use of alcohol, and it has fared no better in the battle against
marijuana use.

And besides, how do marijuana users compare to other criminals? We're
talking about people who value the benefits of a good nap. Their biggest
social flaw is that they consume large quantities of chips, cheese puffs,
frozen burritos and Twinkies. We've all had an experience with an angry
drunk. Sure, marijuana users get a little moody sometimes, but they simply
don't have the energy to get genuinely angry. Are we really safer with
these folks behind bars? I guess I don't know what the answer is, but I
know the current answer isn't working. The least we can do is agree upon that.