Pubdate: Mon, 12 Nov 2012
Source: Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
Copyright: 2012 The Morning Call Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/DReo9M8z
Website: http://www.mcall.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/275
Author: Bill White

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION IS GAINING MOMENTUM

Last week, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize
marijuana for recreational use. (RICK WILKING, Reuters Photo /
November 8, 2012) Bill White 5:25 p.m. EST, November 12, 2012

Last Tuesday was a very good day for those of us who think marijuana
should be legalized and that the 40-plus-year War on Drugs is an
incredibly expensive, destructive failure.

Nine states and localities voted for more sensible drug laws,
including Colorado and Washington, where voters decided to legalize
and regulate marijuana, and Massachusetts, which became the 18th state
to allow medical marijuana.

I used my blog Tuesday to refer readers to the blog of the group Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition, which spent the night tracking the
votes. LEAP is an organization of police, judges, prosecutors and
others who believe we need to end the War on Drugs.

Marijuana legalization clearly is gaining momentum. A survey earlier
this year by the polling organization Rasmussen Reports showed that 56
percent of Likely Voters now favor legalizing and regulating marijuana
in a similar manner to the way alcohol and tobacco cigarettes are regulat
ed.

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U.S. Reps. Barney Frank and Ron Paul introduced legislation last year
that would have ended federal marijuana prohibition and left the
matter to individual states, but it never went anywhere. So even in
states where medical marijuana or any marijuana have been legalized,
there's the threat that federal laws will be enforced.

"It really remains to be seen to what extent the Obama administration
will prioritize cracking down vs. respecting the will of the voters,"
LEAP media relations director Tom Angell told me.

President Obama hasn't provided much encouragement. As Angell pointed
out, the president's response to questions about marijuana
legalization has been to laugh it off.

"No one can laugh this issue off now," Angell said. "This is a
mainstream, majority-support position. It needs to be taken seriously
by our elected officials."

The Drug Enforcement Administration website contains a January 2011
report called, "The DEA Position on Marijuana." For me, parts of it
have a "reefer madness" feel to them, including low regard for
arguments regarding medical marijuana. It does contain this passage
clarifying Attorney General Eric Holder's guidelines for federal
prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the use of
marijuana for medical purposes.

"The guidelines =C2=85 make clear that the focus of federal resources
should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with
existing state laws, and underscores that the Department will continue
to prosecute people whose claims of compliance with state and local
law conceal operations inconsistent with the terms, conditions, or
purposes of the law.

"=C2=85 While some people have interpreted these guidelines to mean that
the federal government has relaxed its policy on 'medical' marijuana,
this in fact is not the case. Investigations and prosecutions of
violations of state and federal law will continue."

I called DEA to see if it has updated its approach in states where
marijuana has been legalized. Its prepared response:

"The Drug Enforcement Administration's enforcement of the Controlled
Substances Act remains unchanged. In enacting the Controlled
Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I
controlled substance. The Department of Justice is reviewing the
ballot initiatives, and we have no additional comment at this time."

Whatever you think of legalizing and regulating harder drugs it's
difficult at this point to advocate for our present course when it
comes to marijuana.

LEAP has pointed to an FBI report showing more than 750,000 marijuana
arrests and more than 1.5 million total drug arrests in 2011. That's
one drug arrest every 21 seconds, with almost half of them for
marijuana. The report also showed that 81.8 percent of drug arrests
were for possession only.

Think of all the productive uses that could be made - or tax money
returned - from the funds spent on enforcing these laws, prosecuting
these "criminals" and housing them in jails in a war that we have no
chance of winning. It's crazy, even if you don't consider the human
toll of ruined lives and endangered and corrupted members of law
enforcement.

Unfortunately, our national politicians, including Obama, have shown
no stomach for addressing this. So it will have to happen on a
state-by-state or community-by-community basis until they get the message
=2E

I asked Angell if he's heard anything about legislation or a
referendum in Pennsylvania or surrounding states. He said he's heard
about moves in other New England states, but nothing about
Pennsylvania. "The play [in Pennsylvania]," he suggested, "would be to
pass a medical marijuana law."

Last Tuesday's successes have left advocates feeling optimistic, even
where they fall short. When I emailed Angell after the election that I
was disappointed a marijuana legalization referendum failed in Oregon,
he was unfazed.

"Oregon came surprisingly close for such a poorly-funded campaign," he
responded. "We'll get 'em next time!"
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MAP posted-by: Matt