Pubdate: Tue, 22 Jan 2013
Source: Tribune-Democrat, The (Johnstown, PA)
Copyright: 2013 The Tribune-Democrat
Contact: http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_279131011.html
Website: http://www.tribune-democrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4063
Note: The following editorial appeared in The (Carlisle) Sentinel. It
does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tribune-Democrat.
Page: A6

SENATOR'S POT PLAN A NON-STARTER

What is state Sen. Daylin Leach smoking? Recently, Leach, 
D-Montgomery/Delaware, announced plans to introduce legislation that 
would legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania. Not in the way other states 
have, legalizing use for medicinal purposes, but without 
restrictions. Leach previously introduced a bill that would have 
legalized marijuana for patients who would be eligible due to their illness.

That failed, so now he's riding the pot train further down the track.

To be fair, his policy has merit: The state spends billions of 
dollars "investigating, prosecuting, incarcerating and monitoring 
millions of our fellow citizens who have hurt no one, damaged no 
property, breached no peace." He cites safety statistics that show 
marijuana use is less dangerous than beer, less risky than cough 
syrup and less addictive than chocolate.

But what he doesn't mention is that legalization of marijuana use 
would require major new expenses, such as regulating drivers who get 
high before getting behind the wheel of a car. How many billions of 
dollars would be spent expanding DUI checks and testing to account 
for marijuana abuse?

In a society where smoking has been banned in many places, his 
comparison to beer, cough syrup and chocolate weakens. Smoking bans 
exist because nonsmokers are affected by the choices smokers make.

If a nonsmoker is in a restaurant with smokers, they're exposed to 
secondhand smoke despite having made a choice not to smoke. 
Similarly, pot smokers would be free to use a drug that cannot be 
consumed as beer is, nor taken or eaten as is cough syrup and 
chocolate. All three of those practices are solitary  pot smoking 
creates smoke that affects more than just the pot smoker.

While marijuana legalization may be an inevitability, with Washington 
and Colorado recently voting to legalize its use, allowing free-range 
pot smoking anywhere in the state is not an appropriate way forward.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom