Pubdate: Thu, 25 Jun 2015
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2015 The Detroit News
Contact:  http://www.detroitnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Jeff Irwin
Note: State Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, represents the 53rd District.
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n329/a05.html

DECRIMINALIZE AND REGULATE MARIJUANA TRADE IN MICHIGAN

I read with interest Nolan Finley's Editor's Note, "Get pot 
legalization right," and his prediction that marijuana would be legal 
for adults in Michigan by the end of 2016.

To that end, I have been working on legislation to decriminalize and 
regulate the trade in marijuana. Getting it right and learning from 
the experience in Colorado is critical if Michigan is to maximize the 
public safety and financial gains of ending prohibition.

Marijuana prohibition is a colossal failure. It is an expensive and 
hopeless endeavor that drives profits for violent criminals. Our 
head-in-the-sand policy doesn't keep marijuana out of the hands of 
adolescents, and it pushes the trade in marijuana into neighborhoods. 
Additionally, it distorts the priorities of our law enforcement 
resources. Rather than wasting hundreds of millions of dollars every 
year arresting and prosecuting marijuana users, we can redirect those 
efforts toward providing substance abuse treatment and taking down 
violent criminals.

When Americans put an end to alcohol prohibition, legal and regulated 
alcohol brought greater safety for consumers and took money out of 
the hands of violent cartels. Ending marijuana prohibition can bring 
the same benefits. But how do we get it right?

What we've learned from Colorado is that encouraging compliance is 
the linchpin of a successful policy. Since marijuana has been illegal 
for so long, illegal paths of commerce are well established. If the 
barriers to get into the legal marijuana business are too onerous or 
the taxes too high, and sellers won't switch to the legal and regulated market.

That's why we need to set a tax rate and licensing rules that 
encourage residents to legitimize their activity and comply with the 
law. Regulations should be drafted narrowly to protect consumers and 
maintain safe facilities. But regulations should not cater to Reefer 
Madness hysteria, smothering legal players with rules and thereby 
advantaging illegal sales. Put simply, we should make participation 
in the legal market the most rational choice for buyers and sellers.

As it did with alcohol, ending prohibition and bringing marijuana out 
of the shadows will increase public safety and give us a better 
chance of preventing drug abuse. However, there are some important 
differences between alcohol and marijuana that need to be considered. 
For one, ending illicit sales and cultivation cannot be accomplished 
with a big government solution like our system of alcohol regulation. 
Black market sales of marijuana are too entrenched, and an overly 
aggressive regulatory posture would maintain the advantages enjoyed 
by the cartels and other illegal sellers.

Also, marijuana is inarguably safer than alcohol. Alcohol poisoning 
can and does kill, while it is impossible to overdose on marijuana 
alone. Alcohol is physically addictive, while marijuana is not. 
Alcohol also produces a more intense intoxication that is much more 
likely to lead to violence or self-harm. For these reasons and more, 
marijuana regulation should be not be identical, but instead 
analogous to alcohol regulation. The regulations must be tailored to 
the risks and market forces that apply to the substance in question.

The War on Drugs is the granddaddy of all big government programs. It 
is expensive, it doesn't work, and it violates our basic principles 
of American freedom. Now is the time to take the lessons from 
Colorado and other nations and adopt a market-friendly policy that 
discourages criminality and enhances public safety.

I agree with Nolan Finley that, as with alcohol, a system of licensed 
producers and retailers will help reduce violence, weaken organized 
crime and keep intoxicants out of the hands of kids. But we need to 
respect market forces and the limitations of government's power and 
enact a smart legalization policy. If we try to grasp too tightly, 
the benefits of ending prohibition will slip through our fingers.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom