We have all seen the TV clips of the lady in the coffee shop and the lawman in the jail corridor asking if we should regulate marijuana. America has spent billions trying to enforce marijuana prohibition with no evidence of success and no expectation of success in the future. In essence, under prohibition, we have abdicated the government's primary obligation to regulate and control the production, distribution and sale of marijuana.

Prohibition grants these regulatory functions to violent criminals who control the market with "law of the jungle" tactics. Drug dealers and street gangs profit immensely from the production and sale of this drug simply because our laws prohibit legitimate businesses from entering the market.

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Kudos to Dan MacArthur for his excellent column, Oct. 12, on the subject of banning medical marijuana operations in Fort Collins. I find it deeply disturbing that the Concerned Citizens of Fort Collins seem so concerned about marijuana and have so little concern about the effects of alcohol on our young. Every day in the Coloradoan or the Denver Post, we read accounts of fatal accidents involving teens who were drinking, but rarely is the cause marijuana.

As MacArthur pointed out, prohibition is "an exercise in futility." It is time to legalize pot, and do away with the hypocrisy of "medical marijuana." We in this country spend billions of dollars annually chasing and incarcerating people whose only crime was smoking pot. Driving the weed underground will only serve to further exacerbate the jail capacity problem we already have. It is ironic that we can look forward, should the ban pass, to further strains on our jails just at the same time we are being asked to renew a tax to fund these same jails.

For the record, I do not smoke pot, I have never smoked pot and have no interest in or intention of smoking it.

Howard Spivak,

[end]

I recently finished watching Ken Burns' three-part documentary on Prohibition. One thing in particular stood out: When FDR took over as president of the United States in 1933, he had decided not to take a stand on the question of Prohibition. However, when he became president and realized how much the government needed money, he pushed for repeal, and the sale of liquor - with the collecting of taxes - became legal again.

Marijuana should be made legal for all uses, and taxes should be collected. If there are those who are nervous about this, some of the money saved fighting our drug "war" could be used so that young children starting in gradeschool get educated on the pitfalls of using drugs.

Elizabeth Poletti, Littleton

[end]

Marijuana Opponents Say Drug Needs FDA Approval

Cannabis Science Inc., a Colorado-based medicinal marijuana biotech company that develops pharmaceutical cannabis products, has developed a formula it said can treat cancer.

Earlier this month, the company announced plans for the drug to go into circulation by the end of October. It will be released first in two unspecified Colorado cities. Colorado will be the only state thus far to administer the drug to patients, though the company hopes to expand worldwide.

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The charging of three medical-marijuana entrepreneurs with federal drug crimes sowed chaos in the state's cannabis community Friday and raised questions about why the owners' dispensary was allowed to stay open after a previous police raid.

Father-and-son Ha and Nathan Do were in federal lockup on drug-distribution charges Friday night, held without bail, after agents raided an unlicensed marijuana-growing warehouse in Denver and seized more than 1,000 cannabis plants. Along with Ha Do's brother, Hai Do, the three run the Earth's Medicine dispensary in Denver and operate three cultivation facilities that have applied for licenses, according to state records.

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The state's largest labor union today announced that it has hundreds of new members from the medical-marijuana industry.

Local 7 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union said in a statement that the new members come from a "comprehensive cross section" of the industry. The union, which has 25,000 members statewide, said it would announce more details at a news conference Monday. The union put the total number of jobs in the medical-marijuana industry in Colorado at 8,000, though it is unclear how it came to that number.

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Re: "Echoes of Prohibition in nation's pot policies," Oct. 8 Vincent Carroll column.

Mexican drug cartels are no doubt thrilled with the Obama administration's crackdown on voter-approved medical marijuana dispensaries. So much for change and 2008 campaign promises to respect states' rights. So much for jobs.

The medical marijuana industry is one of the few job creators in the current down economy. If President Obama succeeds in destroying the domestic medical marijuana industry, international drug cartels will move in to meet demand and reap the profits. This is basic economics.

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Prohibition doesn't work and usually does more harm than the problem it is aimed at fixing.

That was the clear conclusion of last week's fascinating yet excruciatingly endless Ken Burns PBS documentary on Prohibition. While watching, I couldn't help but be struck by the parallels as we decide whether to embark on our own futile experiment in prohibition.

Fort Collins voters on Nov. 1 will decide whether to ban medical marijuana operations and medical marijuana-infused products within city limits. Approval of such measures allows cities and counties to opt out of the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code.

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Four kilograms of cocaine were mistakenly destroyed by a Denver police property sergeant before the case against a notorious gang kingpin could go to trial.

Now Brian Kenneth Hicks is asking a federal judge to toss out his crack-cocaine-trafficking case or issue sanctions against prosecutors for mishandling evidence.

The Denver Police Department launched an internal investigation into the destruction of the cocaine, said Lt. Matt Murray.

Denver's CBS4 first reported Hicks was moving to have his case dismissed because of the destroyed cocaine.

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The Colorado Supreme Court may soon take up a debate that could fundamentally alter Colorado's medical-marijuana landscape.

The question: Does Colorado's constitution, amended by voters in 2000 to include a medical-marijuana provision, give people a right to cannabis?

The Colorado Court of Appeals this summer said no, in a case involving a man fired from his job over legal medical-marijuana use. That man, Jason Beinor, has now asked the state Supreme Court to review his case.

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The primary goal of drug legalization advocates has always been to get to full marijuana legalization. Colorado is now targeted by legalizers in an attempt to scam us into legalizing marijuana outright. On Sept. 28th, the United States Department of Justice sent a letter warning pot dispensaries in California that they are in direct violation of federal law and they must close their doors within 45 days.

Title 21, United States code, Section 856(a) provides: "It shall be unlawful to knowingly and intentionally rent, lease, or make available for use, with or without compensation, a building, room, or enclosure for the purpose of unlawfully storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance."

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I wonder if Attorney General Eric Holder was able to catch any of Ken Burns' latest series on PBS, on the rise and fall of Prohibition. Given Holder's growing zeal for suppressing medical marijuana commerce, as confirmed by this week's crackdown on dispensaries in California, he might have found the second episode, "A Nation of Scofflaws," particularly timely.

As the PBS promotional links explain, Prohibition turned otherwise "law-abiding citizens into criminals, made a mockery of the justice system" and "fostered cynicism and hypocrisy that corroded the social contract all across the country."

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Prosecutors say a hunt for drug dealers who sold an ex-college official a bag of dirt for $600 instead of heroin lead to a slaying in a church parking lot.

The Gazette of Colorado Springs reports (http://bit.ly/mWsM0R ) that 63-year-old Michael Berkowitz is the former director of enrollment at the University of Phoenix, and owner of a jewelry store in Aspen. A judge Friday ordered that he stand trial on several charges, including murder and kidnapping in the June 30 death of 27-year-old Matthew Moore. Prosecutors say that Berkowitz and another man who served as Berkowitz bodyguard kidnapped Moore and gunned him down at Calvary Baptist Church. Berkowitz told investigators that 23-year-old Rodrigo Rubio was the triggerman.

Police say Berkowitz ordered Rubio to kill Moore.

[end]

Say this about marijuana activist and cannabis spiritualist Brandon Baker: The guy is an optimistic fellow.

Last week, Baker - a medical-marijuana patient and the founder of a cannabis church called Greenfaith Ministry - filed suit against the state of Colorado, arguing that many of the state's medical-marijuana laws are illegal. That isn't so surprising, given that other cannabis advocates have done the same. What is surprising is the venue Baker chose to file his complaint.

The lawsuit (PDF) is filed in federal court, an arena in which all marijuana use and distribution is as legal as a monkey knife fight.

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Consider this a front-line report from Colorado's War on Marijuana. As a 36-year veteran of the Denver Police Department, I'm joining many of my fellow law enforcement officials to say that the battle is being lost.

Our combined efforts to stop marijuana use have not only failed, but they've actually made Colorado communities more dangerous, not less, and at a tremendous expense in lives and dollars.

Unless we change strategies, drug use won't be reduced, respect for the law will continue to erode, and untold numbers of Coloradans' lives will be ruined - all at an ever-increasing cost.

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Hundreds of law enforcement professionals including Denver's U.S. District Judge John Kane have come together on a curious quest: Saying the drug war has failed, they want to legalize drugs.

Some are very nuts and bolts, saying the war on drugs has cost trillions of dollars while only making the problem worse. Others like Kane, while agreeing on that point, are more philosophical. "Our national drug policy is inconsistent with the nature of justice, abusive of the nature of authority, and ignorant of the compelling force of forgiveness," he says on the web site of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

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In the Sept. 25 Sunday Coloradoan, I read five or six different reasons why our city is the best. I have yet to read anything anywhere that suggests because Fort Collins has medical marijuana centers we're going to be taken off the A list.

In the article about our economic vibrancy, Richard Florida recognizes six key variables that causes Fort Collins to stand out in the nation. One of those key variables I noticed wasn't intolerance.

To be truly a great city, we as citizens must have the capability to open our minds and hearts to others who may not be of the same thought and try to understand their plight.

Fort Collins is a celebrated community because we are a diverse one, willing to be innovative, thoughtful, forward thinking and fair minded.

Michael E. Mockler

Fort Collins

[end]

American leaders should consider Mexican President Felipe Calderon's bombshell the first shot fired in a course redirection for both nations.

At the United Nations last week, Calderon pleaded with nations whose residents buy illegal drugs to help cut demand and thus hit the drug cartels that hold Mexico and its economy hostage. He said these nations are "obligated to look for other ways, including market alternatives that prevent narco-traffickers from continuing to be the origin of violence and death," according to a Los Angeles Times report.

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The readers of the Coloradoan must remember when the campaign for the city sales tax increase was going on. The slogan used many times was "Keep Fort Collins Great."

In that same light, the people behind that slogan should be sincere about keeping Fort Collins great. How? Rally the Fort Collins residents to get out and vote to shut down the marijuana dispensaries. Improve the image of the city.

It was truly amazing to read that so many so-called sick people could use only marijuana to ease their pains.

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A Boulder man's claim that Boulder Community Hospital reversed its position on allowing him to use his medical marijuana on the premises has raised questions about how closely medical staff follow hospital policies prohibiting cannabis use on site.

The man, who asked to have his name withheld because he fears retribution, asserts that he and his wife were told by a BCH nurse in April that he could smoke medical marijuana at the west end of the BCH parking lot as long as he did it discreetly in his car. But he claims that hospital staff backed off that stance after he used cannabis in the parking lot during a Sept. 12 13 hospital stay.

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