Pubdate: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 Source: Des Moines Register (IA) Copyright: 2002 The Des Moines Register. Contact: http://DesMoinesRegister.com/help/letter.html Website: http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123 Author: Lee Rood RELAXED ATTITUDES TOWARD MARIJUANA WORRY COURT OFFICER Ed Nahas decided he had no choice but to recommend criminal charges against the young pot smoker after he asked a few questions this week. "When was the last time you used?" the juvenile court intake officer asked. "Yesterday," the Des Moines 15-year-old answered, exemplifying a casual attitude toward marijuana use that troubles Nahas and other authorities. The boy's mother, still reeling from the teen's May 10 arrest, looked stunned, Nahas said. "I use every day," he recalls the boy saying. "When I get out of high school, I plan to move to a country where it's legal, and I plan to smoke it every day." The teen can add England to his list of safe places to smoke a reefer. Earlier this week, Great Britain joined a handful of other European countries to ease criminal penalties for marijuana use. Although it's unlikely the United States will follow suit anytime soon, Nahas and local drug counselors say they have seen a shift in attitudes toward those in Europe. While many people still believe marijuana should remain illegal, they also have become more ambivalent about its widespread use and availability, Nahas said. "The attitude is definitely more lenient," said the 25-year veteran of the juvenile court system. "Kids and parents do not take experimentation and use as seriously as they should." That two promising University of Iowa athletes - football player Derreck Robinson and basketball player Sean Sonderleiter - were charged last week for pot possession is hardly surprising, just disappointing, drug counselors say. Pot has long been America's classless, smokable drug of choice, second only to alcohol in usage. Authorities say arrests for marijuana dealing and possession remain relatively steady, even as new drugs rise and fade in popularity. When last surveyed in 1999, roughly 17 percent of youths nationally in sixth, eighth and 11th grades reported they had used pot at least once. In Polk County, Nahas sees a steady 20 or so youths a month on marijuana-related offenses, only half of whom are formally charged. "We're a little more lenient with pot than we are with methamphetamine or cocaine," he said. "I don't care if you're an A student, we're not going to give you a break if you get caught with those drugs." Drug agents say the content of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is considerably higher today than in the 1960s and "70s, but the problems it produces still pale to other, harder drugs. That's one reason British officials said they wanted to downgrade marijuana. Those who smoke and possess small amounts of pot will be ticketed instead of arrested under plans announced this week by government officials. "The message to young people and families must be open, honest and believable," Home Secretary David Blunkett said in outlining the plan to the House of Commons. "Cannabis is a potentially harmful drug and should remain illegal. However, it is not comparable with crack, heroin and ecstasy." Through much of this week, groups in America such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws have praised the British policy shift, calling Britain's reclassification of cannabis "an honest and common-sense approach to refocus drug policy on those substances that cause the most harm." Several European countries already have relaxed their drug laws for similar reasons. The Netherlands has legalized marijuana, while Luxembourg has ended jail sentences for marijuana possession. Spain and Italy do not jail people caught with drugs meant for personal use. Last year, Portugal adopted a law eliminating jail time for possession of small amounts of any illegal drug, according to The Associated Press. In the United States, marijuana use is approved only for certain medicinal purposes. Jesse Villalobos, a Des Moines human rights worker, said that regardless of one's view about marijuana, prison overcrowding, and the disproportion of minorities and poor people behind bars demand that policy-makers in this country take a closer look at alternative sentencing. "People continue to be prosecuted for nonviolent crimes as opposed to the real criminals," said Villalobos, a regional program director for the National Conference for Community and Justice. Many in law enforcement and politics, however, still believe America's war against drugs, including pot, should continue. "Regardless of whether it's a losing battle, and, no, I don't think it is, I think it is a battle we need to continue to fight," Des Moines police Sgt. Bruce Elrod said. "The last thing I would want is for kids to think we don't care about what they do with drugs." As for changing drug laws, he added: "Wherever we draw the line in the sand, people walk right up to that line." Bert DuChene agrees. A daily pot smoker in high school, the 29-year- old Des Moines tattoo artist said softening drug laws is not the answer. "Everyone I know smokes pot and they're so nonchalant about it," said DuChene, who no longer uses the drug. "My friends will try to argue that alcohol is so much worse . . . but several of them are just throwing their lives away." Many parents fail to recognize the lost potential of youths who become regular dope smokers, said Janice Lane, director of Cornerstone Recovery, a youth treatment program run by Children and Families of Iowa. "We see a lot of bright, I'm talking talented kids, and their motivation and commitment level just isn't there," she said. "Yet, the parents seem to think it's no big deal. . . . Kids create their history every day, but once you get those drugs in there, that all stops." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth