Pubdate: Wed, 14 Nov 2012
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2012 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340

MARIJUANA LAWS NO PIPE DREAM

It Would Be Wrong to Characterize a Legalization Movement As Being Led
by 'Stoners.'

After his state became one of two where marijuana legalization was
approved by voters last week, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper warned
that "federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don't
break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly."

Hickenlooper's allusion to marijuana-induced munchies was amusing, but
it had a sly, sinister subtext - namely, that the measure was brought
about by nothing more than a ragtag army of stoners who just want the
government to let them get high. Would Hickenlooper, a Democrat and
Main Line native who opposed the initiative, have us believe that more
than half of Colorado's electorate consists of inveterate potheads in
the mold of Cheech and Chong?

In fact, the Rocky Mountain State isn't even a liberal outlier; it was
one of this year's tightest presidential toss-ups, almost evenly
divided between Republicans and Democrats. And yet it joins Washington
as one of the first two states to vote for initiatives legalizing
marijuana without specifying medicinal purposes.

Seventeen other states, including New Jersey, have passed measures
legalizing medical marijuana, bringing the total to more than a third
of the Union.

Even voters who approved outright legalization were not contemplating
a free-for-all. The measures that passed last week feature age and
amount limits.

Washington's directs the state liquor control board to regulate and
tax the drug. And the organization that spearheaded Colorado's is
called the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol - something
Hickenlooper, a former brewpub proprietor, should understand fairly
well.

What we have here is not "reefer madness"; it's sane and sober
democracy. That our interminable drug war is a costly, destructive
failure is clear to most Americans - not to mention Mexicans - who are
not directly employed in its continued prosecution. It's obvious even
to many of those who are, as evidenced by the existence of the
organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

At least Attorney General Eric Holder did not reprise his ridiculous
letter threatening the California electorate just before it rejected a
legalization measure in 2010. But his Justice Department has cracked
down on Californians selling marijuana under an earlier initiative
allowing the drug for medical purposes.

And the department's head-inthe-sand approach continued with its
response to the votes last week: "The Department of Justice's
enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged."

Such statements suggest that in the nation's capital, it may indeed be
time to break out the Cheetos.
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MAP posted-by: Matt