Pubdate: Fri, 22 Jul 2005
Source: North Andover Citizen (MA)
Copyright: 2005 North Andover Citizen
Contact:  http://www.townonline.com/northandover/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3270
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

TIME FOR SERIOUS TALK ABOUT POT

A  recent report that Boston leads the nation in marijuana use seemed 
to be greeted more with laughter than concern. "Hub goes to pot," the 
Boston Herald's front-page headline screamed, "We are the highest 
city in the U.S!" Other  media outlets reacted with a similar mix of 
bemusement and civic pride at the  news from a federal agency that 12 
percent of Massachusetts adults had smoked  marijuana within the last month.

And if you  think this isn't a story that applies to North Andover, 
ask a few high school  seniors who work with community groups and 
organizations in town. They  continually express amazement at the 
number of adult they've met who smoke  marijuana.

The  reaction in the headlines is perhaps unsurprising, given the 
numbers. If that  many residents are regular users of an illegal 
drug, it's hard to paint it as a  serious threat.

The  problem is that the law takes it seriously indeed. According to 
the Criminal  Justice Policy Coalition, more than 2,100 people are 
arrested each year in  Massachusetts for marijuana possession, 
costing taxpayers some $24 million. The  idea that people don't go to 
jail for marijuana is a myth: Across the country  there are thousands 
of people serving time for getting caught doing what 12  percent of 
metro Boston residents did in the last month. As a  general rule, 
when a law is that commonly violated, there's a problem with 
the  law. State legislators, typically too afraid of being called 
"soft on drugs" to even entertain reform of marijuana laws, should 
take a lesson from the rate of  marijuana use and the 
less-than-alarmed response to it. Arresting, trying and  locking up 
people for possession of a drug used safely by millions of people 
is  no laughing matter.

There is  serious discussion to be had about the topic treated so 
lightly when the federal  report came out. The debate over medical 
marijuana rages. Emboldened by a recent  Supreme Court ruling, 
federal agents this week raided three California cannabis  clubs that 
for years have been giving seriously ill people the medication they  need.

The abuse  of marijuana by teenagers is also serious business. There 
is ample evidence that  pot isn't good for brains that are still 
developing. Local middle- and  high-school students report that it's 
easier for them to get hold of marijuana  than alcohol, which should 
provoke a discussion over which is more effective at  protecting 
children, prohibition or regulation. Marijuana  is no joke, and 
serious leaders shouldn't treat it like one. The Legislature's  Joint 
Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse is reviewing 
legislation  making adult possession of marijuana a civil violation 
instead of a criminal  act. That's a good place to start a serious discussion.
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