The marijuana legalization movement in Arizona is relying on a specious study to make the case for recreational marijuana at the ballot next year. Their study says marijuana is 114 times safer than alcohol. Interestingly, it also says meth is ten times safer than alcohol, while heroin and cocaine are twice as safe. On that logic, why not make meth, heroin, and cocaine like alcohol, as well?

Meanwhile, serious peer reviewed research regarding the effects of marijuana has been shown to increase high school drop outs, lower IQ, induce memory loss, and in some cases cause paranoia and psychosis especially among adolescents.

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I disagree that legalization of recreational cannabis should wait until science provides a means to objectively measure cannabis impairment for driving (editorial, "Another unanswered question on pot").

Legalization and DUI enforcement are distinct issues. We have the problem of impaired drivers arising from use of various legal and illegal substances, whether or not recreational cannabis is legal.

This public health and safety issue should be addressed through public awareness campaigns and enforcement, using the best evidence currently available.

However, we have the disastrous societal effects of our futile efforts at prohibition only as long as we continue those efforts.

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Now's the time to get involved in the cannabis social movement

Many social movements have been taking hold in our nation recently. For example, same-sex marriage has moved from social acceptance to being fully legal. Cannabis law reform is a hot topic in politics and the media, as well as more and more states jumping onboard. Times are good, and there is much fulfilling work to be done on these and other humanitarian fronts. However, I am making a public call to action, asking for your participation in these movements. It isn't hard, there are events happening all the time.

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How far down this rabbit hole does Arizona plan to go?

Questions about driving while high on medical pot get curiouser and curiouser, even as some Arizonans push to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

These are life-and-death questions because a stoned driver can be just as deadly as a drunken one. The men, women or children that stoner crashes into can wind up just as cold as the victims of drunk drivers.

The difference is that we have set and measurable limits on how much alcohol a person can consume before he or she is considered legally too drunk to drive.

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November is epilepsy awareness month and that is cause for celebration in the cannabis world because cannabis has been shown to be a safe, effective and far less toxic treatment option when compared to the usual allopathic anticonvulsants. This is accomplished through the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties found in the cannabinoids and terpenoids that are the major active components.

These compounds help to turn down the music for many who suffer from epileptic conditions. With cannabis they are able to live fuller lives, without their development being interfered with by pills.

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Five cartel lookouts huddled beneath thick desert brush one night last month. Suddenly, they realized they'd been spotted.

The scouts, who are paid to study the movements of authorities and guide drug traffickers through the Arizona desert, dropped their heavy backpacks and bolted across rocky terrain near the quiet neighborhoods and golf courses south of Casa Grande.

Using covert tactics, a border-crimes team stationed at a makeshift headquarters watched as the lookouts made their getaway.

"They have night-vision capabilities and they're lightning fast," said Department of Public Safety Capt. Dave Nilson, who fielded constant radio traffic as he led the operation targeting traffickers in Vekol Valley.

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MMJ businesses to conduct business the normal way, except when it comes to keeping their cash in a bank

Picture yourself as a humble small-business owner. You arrive at work one fine, crisp Tucson morning to a surprising letter from your bank. It says you have two weeks to get any and all the assets out of your account before they freeze it indefinitely.

The rent on your office is due next week, and Friday is payday for your employees, and Tucson Electrical Power is wondering when they are going to get their check for last month's energy usage. The bank offers no explanation of why your account was closed.

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With so much misinformation circulating regarding the legalization of pot use by advocacy groups, it was good to see some actual facts about the real harmful consequences of condoning the use of marijuana by adults and teenagers in Colorado.

The myth that the black market would somehow disappear with legalization was quickly put to rest, as "legalization in Colorado has created a magnet for it as legality and availability drive sales and consumption." Now the entrenched drug cartels have to compete with local growers, leading only to increased violence and addiction.

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I see the Seth Leibshon and Sheila Polk dog-and-pony show got more publicity. They never give the whole story, only those parts that will work for their stilted views.

For instance, one of the big reasons Ohio voted against legalization of marijuana was the bill would have created a marijuana monopoly, allowing only 10 privately run marijuana farms in the entire state. Can you imagine the millions those would-be farmers stood to make?

Of course, there would be some problems with children and teenagers, just as there are with alcohol, cigarettes and now the vapes. However, what is less than honest about these two zealots is they want you to believe these problems would be happening to every other kid. Not so. Check the facts.

William Cochran

Phoenix

[end]

Sheila Polk and Seth Leibsohn attacked Colorado's legal, regulated marijuana program because they found evidence that there is still some black-market activity in that state ("Pot failed in Colorado. Why bring it here?").

No program, including the failed War on Drugs, will eliminate all black-market activity. Although hard liquor has been regulated for over 80 years, there are still people making moonshine, but they are now just a fraction of the number of criminals who produced oceans of booze during prohibition.

The Colorado experience has been a positive windfall for their state and a pioneer for Arizona.

- - Bob Fern, Show Low

[end]

Sheila Polk, the Yavapai County attorney, is perhaps the most high-profile person standing against efforts to legalize marijuana in Arizona. Her organization, Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, boasts support of dozens of municipal leaders across the state.

But looming developments to our south and west could render pointless their crusade to stop Arizona going the way of Colorado, Oregon and Washington -- states that have already legalized recreational pot.

Our two biggest neighbors - Mexico and California - are standing on the cusp of monumental change that could powerfully pull the state of Arizona in its wake.

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Our Turn: Pot failed in Colorado. Why bring it here?

Our Turn: Promises about legalized marijuana have not come to pass in Colorado. Why would Arizona follow suit?

As Arizonans prepare for a public debate on legalizing marijuana, we encourage a close look at Colorado - the first state to fully legalize recreational use and sale of marijuana - and Ohio, the most recent state to defeat it.

Ohio - a key bellwether state - defeated legalized marijuana this week by a margin of 28 points. What Ohio made clear is that when the facts about today's more potent and dangerous marijuana are aptly communicated and exposed, there are no good reasons left to make it both legal and more widely available - and it loses.

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There is a flip side to the benefits of chronic pot use, whether it is for alleviating pain or simply for the pleasures of getting high. That other story can be described in two words: Tyrann Mathieu

Former National Football League players lined up supporting legalized medical marijuana at the Southwest Cannabis Convention in Phoenix this week, which isn't exactly surprising.

A lot of football players smoke pot, regardless of league policies forbidding it. A widely circulated story from the online Bleacherreport.com last summer included numerous testimonials from former players who are convinced the drug helps alleviate the ever-present aches and pains that NFL players must live with.

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Re: Peter B.Wilson's Monday letter in support of legalizing pot.

Would you want your airline pilot on your next flight to be "merely high" on marijuana?

Suppose you developed a brain tumor that was pressing on your optic nerve and needed surgery to remove it. Would you want your surgeon to be high on marijuana? Why not? "Hey, dude, sorry you can't see anymore. Slight slip of the knife. I smoked pot before operating on you. It's cool, though, right?"

This needs to be better thought out than the difference between high and intoxicated.

- - Kim Nofsinger

Scottsdale

[end]

During last week's Democratic debate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the United States should model its social policies on Sweden, Norway and Denmark - countries that provide free health care, free college and paid family leave.

But by saying he'd vote to legalize marijuana, Sanders made it much harder to convince Americans to adopt these programs.

Swedish history shows why.

In the 1970s, Sweden did what we're doing now: told police to ignore drug possession and only pursue serious crime. But drug abuse soared, so the country reversed course. Today, Sweden and its neighbors have some of the world's toughest drug laws, including tough marijuana laws.

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Part 2: GOVERNMENT FUNDING, LACK OF RESTRICTIONS SLOW PROGRESS ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESEARCH

Responding to questions about research spending, Mahmoud ElSohly, the director of NIDA's marijuana program, said that NIDA's job is to fund abuse and addiction research and that other NIH branches should be funding other kinds of research.

"It's not that NIDA would take it upon itself to investigate the medical aspects of cannabis," ElSohly said. "It's not the charge of NIDA. It's the charge of other institutes within the NIH to investigate the use of cannabis."

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GOVERNMENT FUNDING, LACK OF RESTRICTIONS SLOW PROGRESS ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESEARCH

Research on marijuana's potential for medicinal use has been hampered for years by federal restrictions, even though nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana in some form.

An analysis by News21 shows that $1.1 billion of the $1.4 billion that the National Institute of Health spent on marijuana research from 2008 to 2014 went toward research on marijuana abuse and addiction. Only $297 million was spent on its effects on the brain and potential medical benefits for those suffering from conditions like chronic pain.

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TUCSON - Heather McNeeley already had spent one birthday behind bars for using drugs, and she was looking at another 3.5 years in prison for possessing and trying to sell heroin in 2012.

Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, however, gave McNeeley a chance to stay out of the pokey.

McNeeley was allowed to enroll in the county's Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison (DTAP) program - the only one of its kind in Arizona.

LaWall said DTAP, started in 2010 and funded mostly by federal grants, costs less than half of what it takes to send a non-violent drug offender to prison. LaWall, a prosecutor for nearly 40 years, added that the state could save millions of dollars if it shifted money to drug treatment instead of adding more private prison beds.

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While marijuana advocates look to legalize in Arizona, concerns remain about medical marijuana program By Jayson Chesler, Lex Talamo and Sean Logan

Whether he's advocating for marijuana or gathering petitions for a ballot initiative, it's tough to miss Dave Wisniewski, chairman of Safer Arizona, a political action committee. His rigid 6-foot-4-inch stature makes him easy to notice. His giant "Marijuana is safer than alcohol" sign helps, too.

Wisniewski said he uses medical marijuana to treat his back pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. He supported marijuana legalization well before his time in the military, but the conditions he developed while serving overseas in the Army showed him the drug's medical benefits compared to the four pharmaceutical drugs doctors prescribed him after his combat service.

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I agree with the headline of Joe Adam Diaz' Sunday letter: "Don't blame Mexico for our drug problem."

However, it's not drug use that causes crime and corruption but rather the criminalization of drugs. How much crime and corruption do we have related to the drug caffeine?

None. None whatsoever. If we were to criminalize products containing caffeine the situation would soon change.

- - Kirk Muse, Mesa

[end]