Pubdate: Sun, 02 Feb 2014
Source: Times, The (Shreveport, LA)
Copyright: 2014 The Times
Contact:  http://www.shreveporttimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1019

ANOTHER VIEW: LOUISIANA SHOULD LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

Marijuana has been in the headlines a lot lately.

Partly, that is because it is now being sold legally for medical use
and recreational use in Washington and Colorado.

In recent meetings, there have been indications Louisiana lawmakers
might once again revisit the possibility of easing the penalties faced
by those caught with marijuana in this state.

That would certainly be a good start, but lawmakers really should take
the issue much further. Louisiana should be the next state to legalize
it. No matter from what angle one looks at the issue, that makes the
most sense.

Marijuana is a Schedule I(C) hallucinogenic substance under state law,
which is one of the harshest in the nation. Currently in Louisiana,
those caught in possession of marijuana may find themselves jailed for
as long as six months just on a first offense. A second offender may
be sentenced to up to five years and fined up to $2,500. Anyone
convicted three or more times is looking at a possible 20-year
sentence and a $5,000 fine. The numbers are even more dire in
instances of distribution or cultivation.

Laws with such stiff penalties for non-violent crimes like marijuana
possession are part of why our state has such a high incarceration
rate. One in 86 adult Louisianians is doing time. That's almost double
the national average. And that comes at a cost. Our state spends about
$663 million a year to feed house, secure and provide medical care to
some 40,000 inmates. And the more money we put into prisons, the less
we have for other things like health care, education and roads and
bridges.

Obviously, we can't continue on this path. Not with our state's
struggling budget. The answer, though, is not to stop enforcing the
law - the numbers prove law enforcement has been having an impact on
what is on the books as a crime - but to look at changing the ways the
law works. And adjusting what is and is not legal.

At one time in our nation's history (from 1920-33), alcohol was
legislatively declared illegal by the 18th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. It was passed Jan. 29, 1919, with the best
intentions.Another View: Louisiana should legalize marijuana

The law that went into effect Jan. 16, 1920, was an effort to improve
and ennoble Americans' lives and protect our society from the effects
of alcohol abuse. It worked for a brief while but eventually served
only to turn more law-abiding citizens into criminals and helped make
a mockery of the U.S. justice system.

Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment, which took effect Dec.
5, 1933. It took a little over a year to get the 18th Amendment
ratified; while ratification of prohibition's repeal took only nine
months and 29 days. That's a telling fact.

Likewise, the history of marijuana prohibition has been a series of
expensive and ineffective tradeoffs such as spending billions in
enforcement costs and arresting hundreds of thousands of individuals
each year for something as simple as possession. Essentially, current
marijuana laws seem to make a lot of criminals yet do little to
actually prevent crime.

Louisiana's, and the nation's, true payoff from the legalization of
marijuana will not be the tax revenue that might be gained, but the
many losses that will be avoided. For example, a great number of
individuals won't be convicted of crimes for what is for most
individuals a benign recreational indulgence. And with that criminal
record, finding work is difficult. Statistics show that about half of
Louisiana's ex-convicts end up behind bars again within five years.
It's just one part of a cycle that helps perpetuate crime and criminal
activity.

We believe public opinion is what eventually will drive the change;
and polls are starting to show a shift in attitude about marijuana. A
2013 survey by Public Policy Polling shows 53 percent of Louisiana
residents support legalization.

The bottom line as we watch (and hopefully learn) from the
legalization experiences of Washington and Colorado is that marijuana
can, and should, be moved from the realm of criminal activity to
legitimate business. As such, it can be a tightly regulated and taxed
industry that could help the state save money.

Now is the right time for Louisiana lawmakers to look seriously at the
complete legalization of marijuana for our state. We should go all the
way.

- -The Times, Shreveport, La.
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