Pubdate: Thu, 16 Nov 2006
Source: Santa Monica Mirror (CA)
Copyright: 2006 Santa Monica Mirror
Contact:  http://www.smmirror.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/970
Author: Steve Stajich, Mirror Contribuing Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)

SANTA MONICA: LIVE FREE OR HIGH

Okay, maybe we won't be fighting New Hampshire in court over use of 
that motto.  But you can bet that as soon as the post-election 
punditry settles down and the news channels start looking for "Hey, 
Martha!"-type topics, our town will draw attention for having passed 
Measure Y, which reduces the enforcement priority on adult personal 
use of marijuana in Santa Monica.

I voted in favor of the measure, and obviously so did a lot of other 
Santa Monica voters.  Now that we've spoken, saying, I think, that we 
don't want law enforcement resources distracted with "busting" adults 
for deploying joints (with exceptions for minors, sale of marijuana, 
use on public property and driving under the influence) when there's 
a world of other things they could be doing what else have we said 
with the passing of Y?

Certainly one is left with the feeling that marijuana use is here to 
stay. So are we, as a city, striking that off our list of targets in 
any kind of "war on drugs?" Are we tacitly approving marijuana's 
integration into our (what do we say here?) culture of pleasure? 
Certainly continued purchase and use of the drug is no secret anymore 
in just about every corner of America.

Discussions about pot inevitably wander, perhaps because users are 
often having those discussions.  It's difficult to start out talking 
about pot's place in contemporary society and not have the 
conversation skid all over the map of drugs, alcohol, substance use 
in general and legalization in specific.  Assuming that millions turn 
to this column for leadership on the big issues, here are some 
thoughts on marijuana post-Measure Y from a middle-aged dude who's 
had too much coffee.

While we need to quit wasting time busting medical marijuana outlets 
and provide those people the comfort they deserve, we should think at 
least twice about legalizing pot.  Not because of anything specific 
about the drug, but because America's experiments in legalizing the 
recreational drugs alcohol and nicotine (delivered by tobacco) have 
had mixed results to say the least.  Add up deaths from lung cancer, 
alcohol abuse, drunk driving, death and injury related to 
alcohol-fueled violence, and you have a hard time selling me a "more 
drugs, please" agenda.  Forget the relative mellowness of pot and ask 
a schoolteacher about making it easier to obtain intoxicants.

We need to widen our definition of a "drug" and begin teaching a 
larger framework of consciousness and non-consciousness.  It's not 
enough to provide kids with drug "information." We need to inculcate 
awareness of human potential and how its power can be diminished not 
only by traditional "drugs" and alcohol but also by such things as a 
costly and often distracting obsession with fashion and brands. 
Ideally, your kid would get off the sofa and get a summer 
job.  Having done so, does he use the money for new jeans made 
overseas by exploited workers or does he buy a book about global 
economics? Or maybe he just scores some weed.

It would help next generations if we learned to be as "out" about our 
weaknesses as we are now about sexuality and politics.  While 
celebrities have learned to capitalize on rehab experiences, regular 
folks like us might do well to confess, "I'm fat because I drink too 
much beer and have a bad diet.  Pizza is a kind of drug for me.  I 
eat to relax and not because I'm hungry etc." We need the awareness, 
and the kids around us could learn from it as well.

So pot use is a weakness? To properly answer that, I'd have to tell 
you exactly how much wine I drink every week.  But I drink that wine 
in many different locations all over the city, without having that 
act pull law enforcement away from something more important.  Now 
that things are officially more relaxed, maybe we should get together 
and talk more about why we do the things we do. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake