Pubdate: Thu, 06 May 2004 Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL) Copyright: 2004 Tallahassee Democrat. Contact: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444 Note: Prints email address for LTEs sent by email Author: Bill Cotterell, political editor Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n663/a07.html?65539 WHAT ABOUT THE SOCIETAL REPERCUSSIONS OF LEGALIZING DRUGS? There's been a lively discussion in these pages about legalizing drugs. It started a couple of Sundays ago when columnist Gerald Ensley said his generation has forsaken its youthful idealism by not legalizing marijuana. Jim McDonough, the governor's drug-policy adviser, responded with the other side of that issue and we've had several letters and Zings about pot. I'm with McDonough. The war on drugs isn't working, but surrender is not an option. Imprisoning people for the illness of addiction is not the answer but neither is making it easier for drugs to destroy lives and whole sections of cities. But aside from moral or legal issues, nobody ever suggests how society might handle a newly legal narcotics industry - and that's what it would be. If you think it stops with marijuana, you might believe that repeal of National Prohibition just meant beer or that the federal income tax only skimmed a few bucks off the bankrolls of billionaires. No, if the government legalized and taxed marijuana, it would get hooked; state lotteries would be loose change by comparison. And once you accept the idea of playing with your brain, why not legalize all the toys and collect more taxes? They'd need it for the soaring medical and social welfare costs, so they might tax it enough to show a profit. Wanna bet? A legal narcotics industry would have money for campaign contributions and lobbying that would make the pari-mutuels, oil, tobacco and alcohol lobbyists look like a visiting high school civics class at the state or national Capitol. Like any business, the narco-industry would want its regulators weak and its tax burdens light. And just who would that legal industry be? Presumably, Pfizer won't start a clean and safe recreational drug sideline but, with so much money to be made, somebody will meet the demand. Probably the gangs already in the business would just deal openly - in some cities, make that "more" openly. The prescriptions you fill at a drugstore are written by a doctor after examining you and the pills are prepared by a pharmacist. You wouldn't buy a bottle of aspirin that's been opened, so why should they make it legal for some guy to sell little baggies of powder on the street corner? Doctors have malpractice insurance and manufacturers have product liability coverage. What insurance company is going to underwrite Dope Depot? The Legislature just passed a sensible law saying you can't sue restaurants for making you fat, so Congress could immunize pot dealers against liability. Well, maybe. But it would take a joint session. What is a safe hit of cocaine, anyway? How does heroin interact with medicines you're taking, legallly or not? And once you've injected, inhaled or ingested the legal limit, of course you'll just lie back and enjoy the high - not try to score some more. Has that been our experience with alcohol? Chances are, once you've consumed your legal, taxed dosage, there will be someone ready to sell you some more - sans taxes - so we can forget about legalization putting the drug cartels out of business. The good news is that surveys by McDonough's office indicate marijuana use has held steady or declined among high school seniors over the past four years. The bad news is, some of those users are probably the same kids who were in 12th grade in 2000. But which way do you think the trend line will go if we legalize it - and is O.K.? What about advertising? No company will sink millions into a new product and then just hope you find it. Will there be a hard sell on TV - "We've moved all our stash to the fairgrounds! Smack, crack, meth, XTC! Everything must go!" - or maybe they'll use a coy, discrete little spot like the ads for those male-arousal pills. Remember that couple lying in their bathtubs on a mountain side at sunrise? He could be unrolling a little tinfoil packet and she could be handing him a pipe as their idyll "turns into the right moment." There's no shortage of pro athletes to endorse some of these drugs and maybe the cookie companies could go for a commercial tie-in. If they ever legalize pot, buy chocolate chip and Oreo futures before America gets the munchies. There are some legitimate arguments for legalization. The libertarians think the government shouldn't tell people what to do and a lot of other people think it's cruel and unusual to lock people up for smoking a joint. But they haven't thought much about what happens next. Or maybe they thought it out, but keep forgetting. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom