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LEGALIZE POT - OR NOT? SCHOLAR OFFERS VIEWPOINTS

AURORA - Most people have pretty strong opinions when it comes to the question of whether marijuana should be legalized.

Aurora University criminal justice instructor Ken Jones, a former commander with the Cook County Sheriff's Department, discussed the pros and cons of the issue with the Aurora Citizen's Police Academy alumni group this past week.

"There are both sides to this issue, and we've been debating it for years," he said.

Jones presented several arguments for the legalization effort.  Prohibition does not stop usage - when it came to alcohol, Prohibition did not even slow it down, he said.

Another argument is that legalizing marijuana would weaken the illegal traffic.  Others include: It is not the duty of the law to forbid a person from exposing themselves to harm; drug users exercise free will, and it cannot be enforced out of existence; illegal dealers will sell to anyone, including children, so legalizing marijuana actually could make it harder for children to get.

Jones also ran through the arguments against legalization.  It is definitely a moral issue, and probably harmful to your body, he said.  The easy availability would likely create new users; drugs are addictive, and they are dangerous to people other than those who use them; marijuana can impair your driving.

The idea that marijuana leads to harder drugs is false, however, Jones said.  Many users of hard drugs also use marijuana, but most marijuana smokers have never tried hard drugs, he said.

Jones said that at some point, marijuana likely will be legalized.  He compared it to gambling in Illinois, which was sold to the public by saying the proceeds would benefit schools.  There would be tax revenue that could be gained from legal marijuana sales.

"The money will drive this," he said.  "Right now we don't have the money to do the things we need to do."

Legalizing marijuana also would ease the overcrowding in the corrections system, he said.  More than 30 percent of the jail population is in for low-level drug offenses, he said.

Jones said he joined the Cook County sheriff's force in 1963.  At that time, he gave talks to small groups such as PTAs about the harmfulness of the drug.  "I really got to see how people feel," he said.

Now, public opinion is swaying in the other direction, as more studies are being done on the issue, he said.

"It isn't the boogey man we thought it was," he said.