Pubdate: Sat, 14 Apr 2012
Source: Beacon-News, The (Aurora, IL)
Copyright: 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact:  http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3800
Author: Matt Brennan

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.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom