Pubdate: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 Source: Daily Courier (Prescott, AZ) Copyright: 2010 Prescott Newspapers, Inc. Contact: http://www.dcourier.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4036 Author: Steve Stockmar, The Daily Courier Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?261 (Cannabis - United States) DEBATE: SHOULD WE LEGALIZE MARIJUANA? - PRO The biggest hurdle for pot's legalization is its image. Unfortunately, doctors and economists take a back seat to advocates armed with pot leaf-shaped sunglasses and the endorsement of every member of The Allman Brothers. Jeff Spicoli gave the advocacy a name, a face and some tasty waves. Seriously, how could dudes know what makes sense or not, critics (responsibly, I add) challenge? So don't listen to Wavy Gravy. Listen instead to ... Economists who have crunched the numbers... "We do know," writes Stephen Easton of the Fraser Institute, "that there are anywhere from 25 million to 60 million U.S. consumers ... and at an average cost of $5 per cigarette, factoring in one per day for each user, total spending on marijuana may add up to $45 billion to $110 billion a year" in new tax revenue. "Government would simply be transferring revenue from organized crime to the public purse," he writes. Those who know what poses the biggest health risks... Hypocrisy runs for cover when The Center for Disease Control identifies more deaths each year caused by legal tobacco use (about one out of every five) than by all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, car accidents, suicides and murders combined. A 2009 British study tracked one out of every 25 deaths worldwide because of legal alcohol consumption. Both numbers dwarf weed-related health risks. And the gateway-drug warnings? The most addictive drug is nicotine, and there is no evidence that tobacco use leads to cocaine or heroin. The People ... Recent polls: Zogby, April 2010 (52 percent of Americans support legalizing and taxing weed); Gallup, October 2009 (U.S. support for legalizing weed reaches new high, pardon the pun). Thirteen states now have laws that let residents use pot medically, according to Fortune, and another 15 states are weighing legislation that could turn them into medical marijuana states. By 2011, more than half of U.S. states may legislate and regulate a form of legalized weed. So spare the Neanderthal lava lamp jokes, and get your head out of the clouds. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake