Pubdate: Sun, 29 Nov 2009
Source: Sunday Gazette-Mail (WV)
Copyright: 2009, Sunday Gazette-Mail
Contact:  http://sundaygazettemail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1404

POT: MAKE IT LEGAL

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Each summer, West Virginia State  Police
helicopters search state hilltops, and tons of  prime marijuana plants
are seized and destroyed. Thus  the state's most valuable agricultural
crop -- which  could provide enormous tax revenue -- is wasted.

Meanwhile, thousands of luckless young West Virginians  sit in prison
cells on "pot" charges, while taxpayers  cough up millions for their
keep. When the convicts  eventually are released, they are partly
unemployable  and their lives are permanently marred.

This costly police-and-prison "war on pot" is somewhat  a reprise of
Prohibition, when America foolishly tried  to stamp out alcohol.
Prohibition created organized  crime, causing bootleg murders and
payoff corruption --  yet it failed absurdly.

Pot prohibition doesn't work any better than alcohol  prohibition did.
Billions of dollars could be gained if  states simply legalized
marijuana, regulating and  taxing it like beer, whiskey and
cigarettes. The  problem of prison overcrowding would be relieved.
Families would be spared the nightmare of seeing their  children
locked in cells.

Public sentiment for legal pot is spreading rapidly in  America. A
Gallup poll in October found that 44 percent  of adults now support
full legalization -- up 13 points  since 2000. "The majority of
Americans could favor  legalization of the drug in as little as four
years,"  Gallup commented.

In western states, more than half already back  decriminalization. A
bill in California's legislature  would allow legal sales, regulation
and taxation.  Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged serious
debate of the question. The state's tax chief estimated  that it would
bring $1.3 billion new revenue to the  bankrupt state government.

Bills decriminalizing possession of small amounts of  pot for personal
use have passed in 14 states. More  than a dozen states now let
hundreds of "clinics" sell  "medical marijuana" to people with
prescriptions for it  -- and conservative columnist George Will says
the  operations are mostly a sham, serving clients who  "really just
want to smoke pot." Some of the "patients"  arrive on bicycles,
skateboards and roller skates.

On the same day that Maine voters rejected gay  marriage, they
overwhelmingly approved the sale of  medical pot at state-licensed
outlets. And the American  Medical Association recommended that the
federal  government stop ranking marijuana alongside heroin as a
Schedule One dangerous drug.

America's culture is changing. Acceptance of pot is  rising. During
the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack  Obama nonchalantly admitted
puffing. "As a kid, I  inhaled," he said. "That was the whole point."
As  president, he halted federal prosecutions for medical  marijuana
sales in states where it's legal.

Slowly, legalization is arriving. If West Virginia  joined the trend,
plenty of revenue could be reaped  from a major agriculture crop, and
taxpayers would save  the costs of prosecution and incarceration. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D