Pubdate: Mon, 13 Jun 2016 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 PUSSYFOOTING ON POT Folks in Placentia apparently haven't read that new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis that suggests, as more states have legalized and decriminalized marijuana, underage use has declined. After the Placentia City Council recently voted to allow some medical marijuana operations to open, the council unanimously reversed itself this week after residents complained. "A near-constant theme was thinking of the city's children," the Register reported. But, as that recent study, and common sense, seem to suggest, marijuana isn't the gateway drug prohibitionists make it out to be. In fact, legalization may reduce underage use as legal retailers are more interested in staying on the right side of the law than your local drug dealer. Just as the end of Prohibition largely drove the mafia out of the beer industry, so, too, would legal marijuana, with a reasonably regulatory framework, likely largely drive out street pushers that don't care about age restrictions on use. But the fact remains, legal marijuana is likely coming. Now is the time to carefully craft policies that allow access while maintaining the character of our communities. Procrastination won't help once statewide legalization occurs. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom