Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jan 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Kathleen Parker, Washington PostWriters Group

THE POT SMOKER'S CONFESSIONAL

Everybody's doing it-confessing their youthful, pot-smoking ways-so
here goes: I don't remember.

Kidding, kidding. Anyone over 30 recognizes the old adage: If you
remember the '60s, you weren't there. Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk.

It is true that marijuana smoking tends to affect one's short term
memory, but the good news is that, while stoned, one does relatively
little worth remembering. At least that's my own recollection. So,
yes, I toked, too. This doesn't mean anyone else should, and I haven't
in decades, but our debate might have more value if more of us were
forthcoming.

Would I have written this when my children were young? Probably not. I
was furious when an Episcopal priest, while speaking to my son's
then-fifth-grade class about his '60s experience, shared that he had
dropped acid in college. My concern then was the same as parents' now:
If a priest (or a columnist) can drop, smoke, drink and become an
accomplished adult, how do you tell your children that it's bad for
them?

And then there's the question all parents dread: "Mom, did you ever
. ?" Mom: "Absolutely not." The correct answer to all such
questions is that any drug, including alcohol, is bad for children,
hence a drinking age, even if many ignore it. Children's brains
aren't fully formed and they are not yet aware of the dangers that
accompany impaired judgment. Mind-altering chemicals are bad for
adults, too, if abused. But adults at least can make informed
choices. Besides, who knows? Maybe Iwas supposed to become the
secretary of state.

Among columnists confessing are The New York Times' David Brooks, who
voiced his objections to legalization, and my Washington Post
colleague Ruth Marcus, who noted parental concerns and her own
reluctance to endorse legalization. This isn't hypocrisy, which I
embrace in the service of civilization, so much as perspectives
developed through maturity and experience.

Though I respect their views and share their concerns, I come down on
the other side. My long standing position is that marijuana should be
decriminalized if not made legal. Regulate and tax the tar out of it,
please, but let's stop pretending that pot consumers are nefarious
denizens of the underworld.

The "war on drugs" (beware government domestic wars) hasn't made a
dent in the popularity of pot. Nor, after decades of common use, has
it been proved to be the evil weed of "Reefer Madness." How much
better to have dedicated our resources to education and treatment
rather than, through prohibition, to empowering criminals and cartels,
not to mention ruining young lives with "criminal" records.

I came to this position not in my youth. but when I was the
law-abiding, straight-arrow, tough-loving mother of a teenager, and
became aware that marijuana use was common among teens of all hues and
stripes.

I couldn't imagine then or now that children might be labeled
criminals for behaviors that mostly required parental attention. This
should not be construed to mean I recommend pot use, certainly not by
minors.

Marijuana isn't necessarily harmless- abuse is abuse-but adults
should be able to consume it without fear of legal repercussions, just
as we consume alcohol. Even though today's weed is much stronger than
the stuff we used to smoke, its use is rarely as consequential as
alcohol can be. Stoners might become overinvolved in the microscopic
ecosystem of tree bark, but they're unlikely to shoot up a bar over a
pool game.

I quit smoking because it bored me. I'm a caffeinated sort, happiest
on Monday mornings when everyone is back to business and I'm on
deadline. Give me coffee or give me death.

Having given up nearly everything that made getting out of bed
worthwhile, I am healthier, happier, more productive. But both my
current abstinence and the indulgences I once enjoyed (and may again)
were my own. My decisions, my responsibility, my consequences.

As they should be-for marijuana as well.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D