Pubdate: Sun, 03 Aug 2014
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2014 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117

FOR SANE DRUG LAWS

Texans Need to Know Where Candidates Stand on Pot

The Marijuana Policy Project advocacy group, spearhead for national 
pot reforms, has hired a full-time political director in Texas to 
focus on changing laws here. The organization has also hired a 
lobbyist to work the state Capitol.

The idea that conservative, law-and-order Texas is ripe for change 
might have been ridiculed in the not-too-distant past.

Things are moving fast, though, as it becomes clearer that the public 
is fed up with needless casualties and wasted money from the nation's 
decades of waging war against weed. Even in Texas, people are fed up.

Polls here have shown that Texans are in line with national 
attitudes: A majority of us support overhauling pot laws. In a 
University of Texas-Texas Tribune poll this year, just 23 percent of 
Texas voters surveyed said marijuana ought to be illegal in all 
instances. More than three-quarters supported reforms that would 
permit medicinal use, possession in small amounts or possession in any amount.

This newspaper has been on record for years in support of medical 
marijuana in Texas. It's the natural starting point for reversing 
decades of grotesquely expensive prosecution and imprisonment for 
possessing a weed once thought to turn people into maniacs. The 
public is smart enough to know that the alleged dangers of marijuana 
have been trumped up. President Barack Obama conceded as much this 
year, saying alcohol is a more legitimate health threat.

But as long as federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule One 
drug of abuse, states that adopt medical marijuana provisions are in 
potential legal conflict with Washington. Congress needs to untangle 
this mess and respect the wishes of 23 states that have approved pot 
for therapeutic use and the two that allow recreational use.

The New York Times added its voice to the reform momentum last week 
with editorials calling for an end to federal marijuana prohibition 
and giving latitude to the states. One option would be regulating pot 
the same way that alcohol is.

We agree in general that the states ought to be free to carve out 
their own approaches. Gov. Rick Perry took that position in widely 
publicized statements this year supporting a move toward 
decriminalization in Texas and the freedom for states to pursue drug 
policies without federal interference.

That was a good note on which to start an election year for statewide 
and legislative candidates. Voters should seek clarity from 
candidates on where they stand on drug policy matters. For the 
general election, readers of this newspaper will be able to look up 
answers from state candidates to our online questionnaires, in which 
we will ask about medical marijuana and other drug reforms. 
(Questionnaires should be online by Labor Day.)

Look for insight into whether candidates are comfortable with the 
status quo or whether they're ready to lead toward more thoughtful 
approaches. The public seems primed to find a new way. 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom