Pubdate: Sat, 01 Mar 2014
Source: Carroll County Times (MD)
Copyright: 2014 Carroll County Times
Contact:  http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1524
Author: Mitch Edelman

ARGUMENTS FOR LEGALIZATION OF POT

Last Tuesday, the Maryland General Assembly held hearings on SB 658, 
the Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act of 2014. If enacted, most 
forms of possession or sale of small amounts of marijuana would be 
decriminalized.

The bill's provisions state that adults at least 21 years old may 
cultivate up to six plants for personal use. Personal possession of 
up to one ounce and smoking paraphernalia would also be made legal.

Each county would be allowed at least two retail outlets for pot. The 
bill sets regulations for cultivation, safety and manufacturing 
facilities, and no marijuana business would be allowed within 1,000 
feet of any schools. There would be a tax of $50 per ounce, plus 
sales taxes, and it mandates a $5 million set-aside for treating 
drug, alcohol or tobacco abuse.

The bill disallows sales to minors, driving under the influence, 
public consumption or possession in jails.

Landlords would be able to prohibit cultivation or smoking on their 
premises, and all cultivation would have to be indoors or behind 
locked fences; cultivators would be required to keep all plants 
secured and to bar anyone under 21 years of age from having access to 
growing plants. Essentially marijuana would be taxed and regulated 
the same way as alcohol is. Estimates are that annual tax revenues 
from the sale of marijuana products would exceed $100 million.

Based on recent reports of revenues from Colorado, that estimate may 
not be high enough.

Revenues from taxing pot could certainly ease the tax burden and free 
the state to improve many other services.

Half of all Marylanders support legalization, and a 3 to 1 majority 
favors its decriminalization, but political support is divided.

I don't wish to discuss medical marijuana or the morality of 
consuming pot, but rather the economic and social consequences of 
legalization. The U.S. keeps more of its citizens in jail than any 
other country, about 2.3 million at present, and many of them are in 
jail for drug-related crimes, either possession or sale of controlled 
substances. Department of Justice statistics show that about half of 
all drug-related arrests are for pot. NORML, the National 
Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, estimates that it costs 
more than $1 billion per year to keep potheads in jail. Just from a 
dollars-and-cents point of view, there is no justification for 
keeping the present criminal model for marijuana.

As it happens, there's a striking racial component to marijuana 
arrests. The New York Times reported that even though black Americans 
use pot at very nearly the same rate as white Americans, they are 
almost four times as likely to be arrested for possession or use. 
This pattern is a significant contributor to social stratification by 
race. If a person is busted for marijuana possession, his or her 
future is permanently affected. The American Bar Association lists 
more than 38,000 punitive provisions affecting a person arrested for, 
let alone convicted of, a crime. Being adjudicated as a criminal 
affects employment, eligibility for public benefits, professional 
licensing and welfare.

It also affects eligibility to vote, and given the racial imbalance 
in convictions, it's fair to say that the democratic process itself 
is hostage to drug laws.

We have historical evidence that shows the effects of making certain 
drugs illegal.

The foolish 18th Amendment created a large class of criminals, 
ordinary people who wanted no more than their occasional highball. 
Courts throughout the land were burdened with cases lacking in merit. 
More consequentially, prohibition created the perfect environment for 
the explosive growth of organized crime and extensive corruption at 
all levels of government.

The remnants of the 18th Amendment still exist today.

But instead of bootleg booze, mobsters now control drug distribution. 
Legalizing marijuana would reduce street crime and free law 
enforcement dollars and personnel to focus on more serious criminal 
behavior and cut the costs of keeping prisoners in jail. The illegal 
drug business is the cornerstone of organized crime, and pot is the 
core of illegal drug trade. While decriminalization in Maryland won't 
eliminate drug violence in Mexico, it will help reduce it closer to home.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom