Pubdate: Thu, 07 Feb 2013
Source: Topeka Capital-Journal (KS)
Copyright: 2013 Jeff Lutes
Contact:  http://cjonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/455
Author: Jeff Lutes

GIVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA A HEARING

I am very displeased with Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, and the
Senate Health and Welfare Committee. The decision to again try to
sweep medical marijuana under the rug and hope it goes away is bad
policy.

Colorado has legalized marijuana completely and Nebraska has partially
decriminalized it, but Kansas still maintains its ineffective and very
expensive charade of prohibition. A number of us have attempted to
contact the committee and its chair and have received absolutely no
reply.

More than $14 million of Kansas taxpayer money was spent in 2009 to
arrest, prosecute and punish about 5,157 of the 277,000 Kansans who
used marijuana that year.

Is there any other crime where an arrest rate of less than 1.9 percent
would be acceptable? In comparison, Colorado received $7.34 million
from medical marijuana dispensary license fees, $5.14 million in state
income tax and an additional $5 million plus in local sales taxes in
2012, all from the medical marijuana industry.

Whether you support compassionate cannabis use or not, we should all
agree this issue needs to be heard, not buried in committee. I urge
everyone to contact their representatives and make their opinion heard.

JEFF LUTES, EMPORIA
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D