Pubdate: Fri, 30 Oct 2015 Source: Ukiah Daily Journal, The (CA) Copyright: 2015 The Ukiah Daily Journal Contact: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/feedback Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/581 Author: Marc Parsley THE POT MONOPOLY GROWS To the Editor: The state of Ohio has just announced that it's on the path to legalize marijuana but with a twist. California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado have all legalized medical pot and then some have moved on to legalizing recreational pot, but Ohio is saying it's going to be the first state to legalize both at the same time. I'm not sure how much sense this makes. Doesn't recreational pot invalidate medical marijuana? Whichever is cheaper is going to end up covering both bases. We all know how easy it is to get a medical pot card. I recently read in an Associated Press article, "20150415 Colorado mulls mandatory lab testing for medical marijuana, AP," that in Colorado, party pot must be officially inspected for contaminates but not medical pot. It just follows suit. California just passed Assembly Bill No. 266 to help manage medical marijuana. This bill gave birth to the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation under the Department of Consumer Affairs. This bill also states that moneys collected as a result of fines and civil penalties are to be deposited into the "Medical Cannabis Fines and Penalties Account." I wonder who's going to be keeping those books? It seems to me that when the state of California allowed the legalization of pot, in total breach of federal law, it is basically saying that the state can break federal law but woe to any body that breaks state law. This is kind of like saying, "do as I say, not as I do" with a big cash reward for a hand full of people and the ever mounting list of problems to be paid for by everyone else. Many of the laws against marijuana that are being broken weren't in existence just to inhibit the pot industry; they were there to protect our kids, the safety of our streets and the environment. High potency marijuana is now available in almost every school in the nation and not by accident. Some politicians and law enforcement are learning what illegal drug dealers have known for decades, "money from children's pockets spends as good as any". The laws to protect our kids from illegal drugs aren't being strongly enforced because the people who are financially benefiting i.e., the illegal drug dealers, and now some politicians, regulatory agencies and law enforcement, don't want to cause a 50 percent cut their profits. Our children and the environment have two things in common, they don't vote or make campaign contributions. These were two recent news articles from the land of legal pot. 20150208 Colorado considering lowering the bar for high school graduation, Denver Post 20150417 Soaring gang violence in Denver on track to surpass five-year high, Denver Post In Ohio, two-term former governor Bob Taft is one of the amendment's strongest opponents. He states, "I don't think that the tax benefits outweigh the hazards, the risks of going full for recreational-medical all the way, flooding our state with edible products that are attractive to our kids." Woody Taft, Bob's distant cousin, finds himself on the "pro legalization" side of the issue. The pro side says that the state is trying to turn a black market into the newest big business. This sounds to me like campaign spin that's trying to put lipstick on a pig. So far Woody and 23 other investors have funded $20 million of the $24 million pro legalization campaign. 23 people financing 83.3 percent of a campaign that will affect millions of people. Monopoly? - - Marc Parsley, Willits - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom