CITY OF BERKELEY ERRS ON DRUG POLICY, AGAIN

Once again, the city of Berkeley has sent an unambiguous message affirming
its nonchalance attitude toward the issue of drugs and the harms they
incur. This time, they have told the DEA to butt-out on even investigating
medical marijuana "clubs," which have been deemed illegal by not only
Congress, the Clinton and Bush administrations, but recently the Supreme
Court in a unanimous ruling against medical pot.

Apparently, everyone in the city seems to believe that our laws on
marijuana smokers are not lax enough. Do they remember that Berkeley
already directs its Police Department to treat marijuana smokers (never
mind medical pot users) with the "lowest priority"-yes, lower than
jay-walking-in their everyday pursuits?

Did they forget that California is one of 12 states that have
decriminalized pot? Yes, if you are caught with marijuana for personal use
you are not fined more than $100-and you won't be thrown in jail for even
five minutes. As the DEA reports, only 7,000 people are in federal and
state jails combined where marijuana possession was their most serious
offense. Sensible or not, these lax laws still allow the DEA and federal
authorities to pursue unlawful activities involving large quantities of
marijuana, including at notorious medical marijuana toking houses.

Unfortunately, City Manager Weldon Rucker-not accountable to the
overwhelmingly pro-drug Berkeley electorate-and his sensible proposal have
been trumped in favor of political pandering by the council. Luckily, the
resolution carries little clout with Berkeley police officers-who
themselves see the damage that a lax attitude on marijuana can have on a
city. San Francisco tried to prevent a DEA raid through a similar piece of
legislation last year, but that didn't seem to stop the agents who
rightfully closed down a club accused of selling pot to minors and
non-medical users.

Whatever your stance on medical marijuana is (remember, because medicine is
never smoked due to the toxicity of breathing in fumes, smoked marijuana
should "generally not be recommended for medical use" according to the
National Academy of Sciences), pro-drug has-beens in the city of Berkeley
should not dictate drug policy designed to protect kids from large scale
marijuana distribution.

With the universal praise the council has given pot, one would think that
marijuana is no more harmless than a glass of club soda. In fact, marijuana
use has now been shown to adversely affect those regions involved in
coordinating and regulating body movements; those involved in learning,
memory and stress response; those that integrate the cognitive functions;
and the reward center of the brain. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable
to marijuana toxicity and its effect on hormones. It is no wonder that half
of teens and adolescents in substance abuse treatment are there for
marijuana only.

The current scientific consensus is that marijuana is not a benign drug. As
the United Nations reiterated again last week, "calls for marijuana
legalization should be met with resistance." Unfortunately, the city of
Berkeley and its officials would rather let everyone and anyone toke it up
than focus on how to actually lower drug demand in the first place. Indeed,
drug prevention is not an issue the council has discussed in years.
Instead, with this move, a city known for its tradition of human rights
activism turns its back once more on children and the vulnerable by
preaching the tired mantra of "lay off our pot smokers" from its chambers
in City Hall. It's time the city put down their cigarettes and put on their
thinking caps.