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. [continues 541 words]
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. [continues 477 words]
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. [continues 294 words]
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. [continues 406 words]
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." [continues 1090 words]
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. [continues 755 words]
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. [continues 1016 words]
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. [continues 1679 words]
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]
The United States consumes more illegal narcotics by far than any other nation in the world. This country sends billions of dollars to Mexico and other countries south of our border for narcotics. Drug cartels were necessary to manage the volume. It is simple supply and demand. Mexico gets blamed for the U.S. drug problem, but it's the insatiable and ever-increasing desire for dope in this country that keeps illegal drugs flowing north from Mexico. Nearly all guns used in Mexican drug wars originate in the United States. Some of those guns have been traced back to U.S. government agencies. Despite drug wars fought over the U.S. dope market, the murder rate in the United States far overshadows that of Mexico. Mexico is not to blame for the drug problem in the United States. There would be no drug cartels or drug traffic if not for the demand for dope from the United States. - - Joe Adam Diaz, Phoenix [end]
Kyle Catlin and His Attorney Say He Did Nothing Wrong, and Are Counting on Arizona's Medical Marijuana Law's Ambiguity to Prevent Him From Life in Prison The thought of possibly spending close to 100 years in prison terrifies Kyle Catlin. But he's mostly concerned about his mom. She's not in the best of health. If something were to happen to her, "I may not even be allowed to leave prison to go to my mom's funeral, and that's super fucked up," he says. "I'm probably not gonna see her, except for behind glass for the rest of my life. It hurts so much to think about that I try not to think about it and move on with my day." [continues 2254 words]
Judith Ray (Thursday letters) claims, "we all know that there is a serious drug problem in our schools with the legalization of medical marijuana," yet she does not cite any scientific studies to substantiate this myth. A study recently published in Lancet Psychiatry found "no hint of an increase (in teenage use) at all" in states that legalized medical marijuana. This study, by Dr. Deborah Hasin of Columbia University, was based on surveys of more than 1 million adolescents in 48 states. [continues 99 words]
I recently moved to Arizona from Denver, where I served as the metro Denver coordinator for The Salvation Army. While there, I witnessed the unintended consequences of legalized marijuana for which neither the city nor the state were prepared. Our organization provided an emergency shelter in downtown Denver. When I arrived three years ago the shelter was averaging 200 men per night. When I left in May, the shelter was averaging 600 per night and every shelter in the city was full to overflowing. [continues 93 words]
Marijuana is either a harmless recreational high or a valuable medicine. Or both. Or neither. We don't really know. But we are being asked to make major policy choices anyway. A proposal to add to the list of approved uses for medical marijuana includes eight new conditions, from arthritis and Autism to Tourette's syndrome and traumatic brain injury. Why stop there? Let's just say it's a tonic for whatever ails you. OK. Some people may benefit from medical marijuana, but official numbers on who uses it make me skeptical. [continues 478 words]
Schools superintendent Diane Douglas blasted an effort to legalize marijuana in Arizona in a statement to the Insider, saying the use of "drug money" to fund schools would be "evil and hypocritical." If approved by voters, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol would set up a system where consumers could openly buy marijuana. A tax on the cannabis would help fund K-12 education and, according to the campaign's estimates, could raise more than $40 million the first year for schools. [continues 117 words]
With a federal ban on marijuana, states are left to craft their own medical pot rules-whether they work or not After waiting in line for hours at a booth during a medical marijuana convention in San Francisco, Jeff Harrington needed only a two-minute consultation and a written recommendation to become a medical marijuana patient in California. He now can legally purchase and possess marijuana from any one of thousands of marijuana businesses in the state. Across the country in Connecticut, an established physician-patient relationship is required before patients are deemed qualified for medical marijuana, and only licensed pharmacists can own and operate dispensaries. [continues 961 words]
Regarding the Saturday letter asking marijuana advocates to "own their passion," I, for one, am absolutely willing to own it. I want marijuana legalized because I enjoy the feeling I get after I smoke it. I couldn't care less how much tax revenue it could potentially raise for schools, how much more money it would save in enforcement and incarceration costs, or even how much more rope or paper an acre of hemp yields versus an acre of trees. I just want to smoke a bowl in the privacy of my own home. [continues 73 words]
Advocates for legalizing recreational marijuana in Arizona say it could provide $40 million for education. Reaping $40 million in marijuana taxes sounds good until you consider all the costs. Extrapolating from a Rand Corporation study, Arizona spends $20 million each year for schizophrenia hospitalizations caused by marijuana. That comes out of the state budget. Then consider the cost of drugged driving arrests and injuries, increased need for drug treatment, and policing underage use. That $40 million gets eaten up fast and the state ends up in the red. Just like alcohol and tobacco, legal marijuana would drain state coffers. - - Prescott [end]
When I was 9 years old, a few older playmates from my fourth-through-sixth grade class started disappearing at lunchtime recesses. It took a long time before I found out what they were doing, somewhere off school grounds. They were smoking pot. This came to mind last week when proponents of Arizona's main marijuana-legalization effort pledged to provide $40 million per year in marijuana tax revenue for education if their initiative passes. Even though I'm an instinctive advocate of legalization, I agreed when Arizona's Republican Party chairman, Robert Graham, called the pro-legalization event a "pathetic display." What's pathetic is the suggestion that $40 million means anything significant to a state public school system that spends around $4.7 billion of state money every year. [continues 969 words]
The Arizona Republic's Friday editorial questioning marijuana-legalization proponents' claim that $40 million would go to schools may be correct. There are other factors that should be considered. In the same issue it was reported that DPS apprehend smugglers on I-17 and I-40 and recovered primarily marijuana. These smugglers are likely bound for an Arizona prison at an absurd expense. Additional expenses include the resources expended on the officer's time, the prosecutors and the courts. Avoiding these expenses would free up money for schools [continues 126 words]
Experts and Users Warn of the Risks of Casual Smoking. Elisabeth Davies smoked marijuana to escape. To ease anxiety. To decompress and forget about life's responsibilities. Davies started as a social smoker at 17. Years would go by, and she wouldn't smoke pot. "It made me feel better," said Davies, a life coach, counselor and author in Peoria. "It took away my anxiety and stress. It made my emotions more tolerable." But when her father died 10 years ago, her casual use became an addiction. She smoked every day after work to escape the grief. [continues 1457 words]
Thursday's Arizona Republic shares with us the latest smoke screen from the pro-legalized marijuana crowd. It includes the mandatory fake check made out to Arizona Schools and the catchy "Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol" label. Who would not support that all-American approach? It would be nice if those smoking their proposed legal product would be honest about what they want. This isn't about the schools or about comparisons to alcohol. This is about their specific desire to make something currently illegal legal. Period. [continues 66 words]
How not to launch a campaign: with a lie. Yet that's what one set of advocates for legalized marijuana did this week. They staged an elaborate event on the state Capitol lawn to claim that taxing marijuana sales would pump $40 million into education. They even had a massive check made out to "Arizona Schools" for that amount. (Here's hoping no one was puffing enough to try to deposit that thing.) The campaign's chairman, J.P. Holyoak, asserted that legalizing marijuana would be "for the benefit of education and public-health care." What bunk. That $40 million figure is pulled out of thin air. It is belied by the experience of states that jumped into this ill-begotten experiment. The Colorado initiative that legalized pot, for instance, promises the first $40 million each year will help pay for school construction. The tax generated $13.3 million last year, and might - might - reach $20 million this year. [continues 175 words]
I need to get something straight before I make a rash decision. I can't be the only one who is confused by this issue! We're being asked to support the legalization of marijuana. And the sterling reason to do this would be to use the gazillions of dollars in revenue from taxes to fund our education system. So far so good! But I think I'm missing something here. Any scientist worth his salt (who is not smoking marijuana) will tell you that marijuana causes loss and or damage to brain cells. [continues 69 words]
Most Native American tribes are opting not to legalize marijuana, though at least two are poised to try it just six months after a U.J. Justice Department memo indicated federal authorities likely would not interfere with growing marijuana on tribal lands if other federal crimes were not committed. Many tribes exploring their options said that as U.S. citizens and sovereign nations, they deserve the right to choose to legalize as states have done. However, tribes continue to balk at the vague language of the Justice Department's so-called "Cole Memorandum" and the fear of federal prosecution. [continues 636 words]
Group: Initiative Would Help Underfunded Schools Legalizing and taxing marijuana could raise an additional $40 million a year for education, according to estimates by the campaign to legalize the drug in Arizona. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which is gathering signatures to qualify for the 2016 ballot, would establish a network of licensed cannabis shops where sales of the drug would be taxed. J.P. Holyoak, campaign chairman, said at a news conference at the state Capitol, "We have a choice: We can either tax and regulate marijuana for the benefit of education and public-health care, or we can keep it illegal for the benefit of illegal drug cartels." [continues 821 words]
Prominent liberals and libertarians have joined to advocate "sentencing reform," code words for reduced prison sentences for a variety of so-called nonviolent offenses such as drug dealing and quantity possession. This is naive or outright dishonest. Illicit drug peddling and consumption is a non-violent crime if you discount murders induced by drug rage or gang wars over drug-sales territory. It's non-violent if you ignore the many people permanently injured or killed by drug use, even those who have great resources. Do I hear Elvis Presley, Len Bias, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and her daughter, among many of our famous entertainers and athletes? [continues 376 words]
Radical public policy reform should not be based on a guess. But lately, the marijuana lobby has been telling Arizonans they should legalize marijuana "just like alcohol," trying to persuade Arizonans to radically reverse decades of policy in everything from health care to criminal justice to education policy. And it's all based on guesswork. Their pitch: legalization will save money and improve education. But Arizonans should not pass a law to find out what's in it. Supposedly, the initiative allows for limited amounts of marijuana for personal use. But what the initiative actually permits is possession of one ounce of marijuana and an additional 12 marijuana plants per household. [continues 482 words]
Four Reasons Why Law Enforcement Should Support Legalizing Law enforcement was designed to protect our communities, but marijuana prohibition=ADand the drug war as a whole=ADhas become an overbearing distraction towards the maintaining of public safety. Prohibition contributes to an overall decrease in public safety and misuse of valuable resources. Here's why law enforcement across the country and around the world are pushing for marijuana legalization: 1. MARIJUANA PROHIBITION FUNDS CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS Criminalizing a high-demand commodity only creates an illegal marketplace that generates wealth for individuals seeking to profit. If legalized, marijuana would create a legal marketplace and diminish illegal operations. Marijuana is often called the =93cash crop=94 by Mexican cartels, and legalizing medical marijuana access and recreational access in only a few states has already begun to weaken their cash flow. Nationwide marijuana legalization would devastate the enormous and lethal underground networks brought about by prohibition. [continues 278 words]
PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says officials are not allowed to use public resources to campaign for or against ballot measures. The revised opinion issued Thursday replaces one issued in May but yanked after it was criticized. It said officials could "educate" the public about ballot measures but can't urge that people vote in a particular matter. The original opinion was requested by Maricopa and Yavapai County prosecutors who oppose a marijuana legalization proposal. Critics said officials might view the opinion as opening the door for them to seek to change the outcome of elections by influencing voters. The new opinion outlines a two-part legal test to determine if campaigning by public officials is allowed. It is designed to balance their free speech rights with bans electioneering using public money. [end]
MMJ vs. Legalization It is a sad but true fact in the world today that politics, lobbying, and action take money, lots and lots of money. This means that to enforce the will of popular opinion we must band together as a cohesive force and make our voices one. There has been a long history of infighting in the cannabis industry. If NORML and other groups of their day had worked together in the 1970s this conversation might be long over. This didn't happen. [continues 684 words]
Three Medical-Marijuana Companies Hope to Tap into City's Wealth of Patients Three medical-marijuana companies are eyeing the Scottsdale Airpark for new dispensary locations as they look to tap into one of Arizona's highest concentrations of patients authorized to use the drug. Two proposed dispensaries are on the south side of the airport's runways, while a third is planned near the Scottsdale Quarter office and shopping complex, according to city records. The latter has already been approved for a permit, while a City Council vote is likely coming for the others. [continues 910 words]
(AP) - Arizona courts appear at odds over the possible impact of legalized medical marijuana on the ability of police to conduct searches prompted solely by officers smelling the drug. In one case, a three judge panel of the state Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that a police search of a man's car during a traffic stop was permissible because an officer smelled burnt marijuana. The panel rejected a defense argument that legalized medical marijuana means police must assume that any marijuana they smell or see is lawful until shown otherwise. [continues 104 words]
The Arizona Department of Health Services has announced that it will accept petitions from July 27-July 31 to add new debilitating conditions to those already approved by the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. The AMMA itself calls for open application periods twice a year, but the rules surrounding the process and the specific standards by which these conditions are approved or denied are largely left up to the DHS administration and these rules can be changed. [continues 610 words]
ACLU Says Profits From Seized Goods Are Put into Slush Fund Pinal County attorneys and sheriff's officials are accused of funneling profits gleaned by seized property into a slush fund to bankroll personnel costs, retirement benefits and County Attorney Lando Voyles' personal home-security system, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday. The suit, filed by attorneys from Perkins Coie and the American Civil Liberties Union, alleges Voyles, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and court officials have exploited Arizona's forfeiture laws and violated citizens' constitutional rights to due process. [continues 538 words]
The wording in the complaint filed in federal court is blunt. "This racket has to stop," write attorneys from the ACLU, the ACLU of Arizona and the firm of Perkins Coie. They aim to shut down a statewide operation that each year confiscates millions of dollars in property from Arizona residents and keeps the money for itself. "We expect a fight," attorney Jean-Jacques Cabou said. "There is a lot at stake here for very powerful people." That's especially true knowing the people running this so-called "racket" are prosecutors and law-enforcement agencies. [continues 401 words]
Colorado Is Giving Businesses Another Way to Bring Marijuana to the Table Mason Tvert of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and attorney Brian Vicente are two of the champions of the 2012 Amendment 64 (The Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act) which legalized and regulated the use and sale of recreational marijuana in Colorado. Now the dynamic duo's new ballot measure, The Limited Social Marijuana Consumption Initiative, is intended to allow private businesses to allow adults to use marijuana at designated establishments, such as bars, restaurants and hotels. [continues 131 words]
An EJ Montini piece about vaccinations contains noteworthy quotes.: "Science is clear that vaccines dramatically protect children. The science is sound." . "Parental choice can't allow one parent to put another parent's child at risk." I volunteer in substance abuse education and prevention. I noted these quotes because people give the risks of marijuana use a pass on this same line of reasoning. Yet, science is clear that marijuana is harmful, especially to children. The science is sound. Parental choice to legalize and use marijuana puts other parents' children at risk. [continues 96 words]
SAN LUIS, Ariz. - Having gained the city council's approval this week, a medical marijuana dispensary could open sometime in 2016, pending the OK from the state. Finding no legal reasons to block the venture, the San Luis City Council on Wednesday approved two conditional use permits sought by Choice Cannabis, one to operate the dispensary on Archibald Street, next to the border, and the second to cultivate marijuana in an industrial building located along Highway 95 on the city's north side. [continues 802 words]
MMJ Is Here to Stay and Is Legal, but It Depends on What Public Agency You Talk to and That Needs to Change Friday, July 10 will go down in history but not for the same reasons I would have wished. There was a state of the art social event planned that had to be cancelled, well not entirely cancelled, just the state of the art part. Counter Culture Events AZ planned and promoted the Fire and Ice 7/10 dab party. For those who don't know July 10 is the new 4/20. The reason is if you turn 710 upsidedown and backwards it spells OIL. Hash oil is one name for some of the popular and potent cannabis extracts in the market these days. The event features three local bands including Alter Der Ruine who is about to embark on a nationwide tour opening for Haujobb, other local acts Mother's Lament and Intertwine, who have a Native American radio station, will also play. [continues 464 words]
Last week, Oregon's new law legalizing recreational marijuana came into effect, -making it the fourth state to legalize, following Alaska, Washington and Colorado. Recreational marijuana is also legal in the District of Columbia. Thousands of Oregonian growers, dispensary owners and marijuana enthusiasts gathered at the Weed the People event to celebrate what many called a historic moment. The main impetus for the event was a result of people seeing green-and I'm not talking about marijuana. As free doobies were passed around the event, so were business cards among the "ganjapreneurs" who gathered there to network. These eager capitalists are hoping to be ahead of the market when retail cannabis sales begin, likely next fall. [continues 722 words]
Groundbreaking Program Was Quietly Ended Last Year Phoenix police pioneered an antidoping policy that took hold in police agencies across the country when the department implemented random steroid testing nine years ago, but the agency suddenly and quietly shut the program down last year. Frank Lloyd Wright (left), Hilla Rebay and Solomon R. Guggenheim, with a model of the latter's namesake museum. Department administrators cited excessive costs and test results that were muddled by the prevalence of legal supplements and testosterone that was legally prescribed to officers. [continues 661 words]
TUCSON (AP) - Authorities in the border city of Nogales, Arizona, believe smugglers were using an international sewage line to transport drugs into the U.S. from Mexico when the pipe became clogged, sending gallons of waste through an illegal tunnel and into a house and local businesses. City officials discovered waste coming out of the house near the border with Mexico on Sunday. City Manager Shane Dille said there was so much waste that it was oozing from the front door and side of the house. [continues 232 words]
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities in the Arizona border city of Nogales believe smugglers were using an international sewage line to transport drugs into the U.S. from Mexico when the pipe became clogged, sending gallons of waste through an illegal tunnel and into a house and local businesses. City officials discovered waste coming out of the house near the border with Mexico on Sunday. City Manager Shane Dille said there was so much waste that it was oozing from the front door and side of the house. [continues 89 words]
Let me start by saying that I was an investigator who headed up the juvenile narcotic bureau for a major city in northern California. In 1960, I was assigned to work drug abuse problems that was occurring in our local school district. In my 20 plus years of working with countless amounts of juveniles and parents whose sons or daughters were involved in drug use, I saw on a daily basis how marijuana affected the juvenile, as well as the effects it had on the family. In my experience, I see marijuana as a gateway drug. The user is introduced to other people involved in the drug culture, who want to turn these stoners on to other drugs. [continues 250 words]
Marijuana causes kids to kill themselves! It makes IQs drop!! If children accidentally eat edibles, they will be poisoned!!! OK, now that I have your attention, I just want to say that none of the above is proven to be true. But Sheila Polk, Yavapai County attorney, and her anti-drug MATForce group has spread such propaganda in statewide programs and billboards. As legalization spreads across this country, many of the early biased studies requiring a negative end result to obtain funding are being disproven. For instance, the assertion that marijuana impacts IQ has been shown untrue by a long-term Australian study and a recent Harvard University report. The Harvard study shows the impact of heavy marijuana use on learning and memory disappears within 28 days of stopping use. Heavy alcohol users, by comparison, have memory deficits for months, or even years. [continues 533 words]
I am truly sorry to read about Lisa James' brother's problems with addiction (Monday My Turn). However, she misses the point. The apparent difference between her and her brother is his inability to regulate his tendency for addictive behavior. So, because Ms. James has had a bad experience with an addict in her life, and does not want to see her child go down the same unfortunate path, she feels justified to advocate that the state make the choice for all adults about recreational cannabis use. [continues 71 words]
SAN LUIS, Ariz. - For the second time in less than a month, the San Luis Planning and Zoning Commission is opposing a request to open a medicinal marijuana dispensary in the city's downtown. The commission voted 5-1 on Tuesday to recommend that the San Luis City Council deny a permit request made by A&F Home Builders for a dispensary to be located in a commercial building at 708 N. Archibald St. Commissioners said their recommendation was based not on any objections to a dispensary but rather to its proposed location in what is described as an area of heavy traffic downtown. [continues 558 words]
Marijuana is not harmless. Of course, it isn't. It is sad that its proponents claim that it is. Having said that, the question still is, should it be illegal? Have our current harsh laws against marijuana kept even one person from trying it who wanted to? Have the laws made it difficult to obtain? We spend billions of tax dollars - yes, billions - every year sending out the SWAT teams and busting rinky-dink potheads who are lighting up in their own homes ... has this had any effect at all on consumption and demand in America? Are we winning the War on Drugs? [continues 126 words]
Inside Arizona
