Pubdate: Sun, 26 Mar 2006
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright: 2006 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/news/edit/form.htm
Website: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394
Author: Karol Delmar
Note: Karol Delmar lives in Santa Cruz.
Cited: Santa Cruz Citizens for a Sensible Marijuana Policy 
http://www.taxandregulate.org/sc06/santacruz06.htm
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

S.C. SHOULD NOT STAND FOR 'STONER CITY'

Some time ago, a medical marijuana clinic was opened in Santa Cruz
with the stated intention of giving compassionate help to people with
debilitating medical conditions who have symptoms that were not
relieved by any other medication. And there are such people. As time
went on, the amount of marijuana that a person could get at any one
time was increased. As for oversight -- is there any at all?

How are these people running the dispensary accountable? Recently,
another individual has applied to open still another dispensary,
possibly in the Harvey West area. There are not that many people who
have debilitating conditions that can't be helped by any other means.
Why should we have another place?

And then recently, a group called Santa Cruz Citizens for a Sensible
Marijuana Policy was formed to declare their defeat in the drug war by
seeking to decriminalize marijuana usage. Their petition calls for
making marijuana "investigations, citations, arrests, property
seizures, and prosecutions for adult marijuana offenses in the city of
Santa Cruz's lowest law enforcement priority," according to their
flier, and seeks to establish as policy for city officials to cry out
for liberalizing changes in state and federal marijuana laws.

The claimed benefit would be to free up police to fight real crimes,
violent and serious crimes. And meanwhile, up at UCSC, they celebrate
openly a pot smoke-out day in the spring.

Let's look at the other side of the coin. A person under the influence
of pot is an impaired driver. Ask someone who has lost a family member
to a drug-impaired driver if the police should fight more violent and
serious crimes than this? Ask a kid who has lost her mom to drugs and
who is living in a foster home what a violent and serious crime is.
Ask serious and violent addicts what drug they started out on. Ask the
teacher who is trying to teach when there is a kid in class who is
sitting there stoned. Ask the family members who go to Narc-Anon if
pot is all that nonserious and nonviolent in its effects. Ask the
people who have suffered home invasions by desperate addicts looking
for pot, if they did not endure a serious and violent crime. Ask the
hikers who have inadvertently stumbled on a pot farm way up in the
woods if their lives were not in danger.

Still another thought. Since there will always be rapes, shouldn't we
just decriminalize rape? Same logic. Let's declare war on
decriminalizing dope.

City Council, let's start tightening up on that dispensary.

Citizens of Santa Cruz, just declare that we are not Stoner
City.

Chancellor Denton, UCSC should be a place of learning, academic
excellence and character development to be world-changing, not stoned
out Doper City.

Police Department, thanks for trying to make our city a safe place to
live in spite of the dopers.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake