Pubdate: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL) Copyright: 2014 Orlando Sentinel Contact: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325 Note: Rarely prints out-of-state LTEs. Author: Bill Lane Note: Bill Lane lives in Orlando. WHY TREAT POT DIFFERENTLY THAN ALCOHOL? Somehow the voting public confused medical marijuana with Disney tickets. That's right; many said, "No thanks," and "We have enough dopes already," and "The laws are best left as they are." At Disney, if you have no ticket, you don't get into the parks because there are boundaries that cannot be crossed. But the laws banning marijuana have no enforceable boundaries capable of stopping it from getting into our schools, our neighborhoods or even our homes. Marijuana is not a "yes" or "no" proposition, as prohibition has proved that regardless of the effort we make and the wars we fight, the demand for marijuana remains constant, and so does the supply. The effort the state must make is to gain control of the supply. And that starts with decriminalizing the user and shifting demand to legal, regulated and taxed supply chains. Floridians who buy pot put themselves at unnecessary risk. Pot is bought and sold in the shadows, where disputes are often settled by violence. A pot user is unnecessarily discriminated against by his employer or potential employer in contrast to the alcohol user who may be encouraged by favorable tax laws to drink - for example, at lunch time (three-martini business expense). Public policy in the 21st-century jails the marijuana user, while doling out tax breaks to the alcohol user. The first step in solving the issue is overcoming fear that marijuana will destroy our culture, and the acceptance that Americans want to use this drug on a par with alcohol. After all, as a gangster-driven commodity without regulations or oversight, it hasn't destroyed the culture so far, and no one wanting a buzz goes without. As a commodity, it has reached near-saturation levels, meaning that legalization will not significantly increase the number of users. The harm that has come from marijuana use is not from the medical risk, but from the risk of being branded a criminal and being incarcerated for possession. By maintaining prohibition, we needlessly put our greatest treasures - our young people - at risk because we are unable to fix our public-policy failures. The winners in the midterm elections, despite the close vote, were the street dealers, the gangs, the cartels and anyone profiting from the status quo. The losers were our children and children's children, and our legislatures, which refuse to deal responsibly with marijuana, other than to pretend it isn't there. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom