The legalization of marijuana would greatly impact the U.S. economy. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, website, marijuana is "America's most valuable crop."

Marijuana crops in the United States are worth about 35.8 billion dollars per year, which is 12.5 billion more dollars per year than corn, the second most profitable crop. If taxed like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana could bring in even more money.

Marijuana sales could generate an estimated 6.2 billion dollars per year in taxes, according to Harvard professor Jeffrey Miron.

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Every morning of each week, the 57 participants of the local drug court make a very important phone call.

Anyone who doesn't goes to jail. It's as simple as that.

"Every morning at five I change the message on the Call Notes," said District 18 Drug Court Administrator Angie Marcum. "They have to call to find out if they need to come in to take a drug test or not."

Just calling isn't enough, though. They have to leave work or school and go to the drug court, which is across the street from the Pittsburg County Courthouse.

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It would be nice to hear the government admit that it over-regulates, that it needs to mellow out and give citizens a little more control over their own lives.

But must the first steps on the road to recovering freedoms from the fount of Constitutional federalism make legalizing marijuana a salient point?

The subject merits an open debate, particularly on economic grounds. In fact, a purely secular argument for the legalization of marijuana is entirely valid. But for much of America -- especially red states - -- the marijuana money trail isn't the issue.

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Students learned how to maintain their constitutional rights without causing problems with police officers during traffic stops.

The Drug Policy Forum of Oklahoma presented "Busted: The Citizens Guide to Surviving Police Encounters," a short film by Flex Your Rights discussing the most common mistakes people make when interacting with the police at the Wes Watkins Center on Wednesday night.

The video outlined proper techniques to use when pulled over in a car, when approached by police on the street and when the police come to your home.

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Parents and concerned citizens turned out Thursday night at Norman Public Schools Curriculum Building to learn how substance abuse affects children and adults in the Norman community.

Thursday's presentation was one of a six-part speaker series that Parents Helping Parents will present over the upcoming months.

Emily Furney of United Way opened the discussion with results from a community needs assessment survey. The purpose was to find what the most important needs of the community.

"The results came from people of all incomes," Furney said.

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Editor, Daily Press:

Wow! I grew up in Tahlequah, and it sure changed a lot since I lived there. Just think -- no more murders, no more robberies, no more beatings! What a utopia!

I assume it is this way, because of all the time and money spent on rounding up these marijuana plants. It is this way, right? If not, what is wrong with the Oklahoma and Tahlequah police [officers] and sheriff's [deputies]? Use your law enforcement officials for real crimes -- you know, ones that harm others.

Jane Monet

California

[end]

EDMOND -- Marijuana's popularity seemed to hit a high in the 1960s. Forty years ago, during the Summer of Love, hippies and for that matter anyone under 30, were encouraged to "turn on, tune in and drop out."

But a random check of Edmond Police arrest reports on any given day show marijuana still seems to be the choice of drugs among many youth.

"It's cheap and it's easily available," said Edmond Police spokeswoman Glynda Chu.

Even those who advocate a change in Oklahoma laws to allow marijuana to be used medicinally agree.

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EDMOND -- There's a Ferris Bueller in every generation. He's the student who gains great pleasure in aggravating the school principal with juvenile antics and distractions. His sole goal in life seems to be to get attention in a new and creative way, each stunt better than the last.

In 2002, Joseph Frederick was an 18-year-old senior in Juneau, Alaska, when everyone in his school went outside to watch the Winter Olympics torch relay pass through town. Knowing there would be media coverage, he and his friends unveiled a 14-foot paper sign that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" along the sidewalk, hoping to get on television. The enraged principal confiscated the sign and suspended Frederick for 10 days. On appeal, the superintendent reduced the sentence to eight days served.

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The Supreme Court should take a cue from the nonsensical banner that inspired their decision to limit free speech. It might do them some good to take a few bong hits for Jesus. Before sacrificing more civil liberties at the altar of the drug war, they should ask themselves, what would Jesus do?

Would Jesus persecute, incarcerate and deny forgiveness to nonviolent drug offenders? Zero tolerance is decidedly un-Christian. Morally, the drug war is wrong. On a practical level, the drug war is an abject failure. There were 786,545 marijuana arrests in 2005, the vast majority for simple possession.

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WASHINGTON News that Al Gore's 24-year-old son, Al Gore III, was busted for pot and assorted prescription pills has unleashed a torrent of mirth in certain quarters.

Gore-phobes on the Internet apparently view the son's arrest and incarceration as comeuppance for the father's shortcomings. Especially rich was the fact that young Al was driving a Toyota Prius when he was pulled over for going 100 mph - just as Papa Gore was set to preside over concerts during a 24-hour, seven-continent Live Earth celebration to raise awareness about global warming.

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The Supreme Court should take a cue from the banner that inspired their decision to limit free speech. It might do them some good to take a few bong hits for Jesus. Before sacrificing more civil liberties at the altar of the drug war, they should ask themselves, what would Jesus do? Zero tolerance is decidedly un-Christian. Morally, the drug war is wrong. On a practical level, the drug war is an abject failure.

There were 786,545 marijuana arrests in 2005, the majority for simple possession. America is one of the few Western countries that punishes citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis, yet lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country.

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The Supreme Court made the right call in the highly publicized "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case.

The court, in a 5-4 ruling Monday, said that schools can punish a student for promoting illegal drug use without violating that student's First Amendment rights.

Given the difficulties schools face today, especially from illegal drugs and violence, administrators should be able to deter students who disrupt the school day and who promote disruptive and illegal behavior.

The case had bizarre origins - an Alaskan student and friends raised a banner in 2002 at a community event that the school attended. The student created the sign with little thought to the content, in defiance of school policy and to test the limits of free speech rights. All rights have limits, and he surpassed them when he chose his message and where to display

[end]

It is not often that the Daily O'Collegian runs an obituary, but I think this death calls for one. After all, it is one that touches each and every American.

The First Amendment, 220, was born September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was fathered by James Madison and adopted by the American people as the part of the U.S. Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment protected the freedom of religion, speech, the press, the public's right to peaceably assemble and citizens' rights to petition the government. In many ways, it was what set America, "the home of the free," apart from the rest of the world.

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I continue to be amazed each time I read an article about the latest damage control plan in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. The recent scheme, which was axed, would have released 100 illegal immigrants to make room for more incoming prisoners.

Of the more than 31,000 individuals in Oklahoma prison or contract facilities according to DOC's weekly count, more than 30 percent are serving time for nonviolent drug offenses, including 14 percent for simple possession. The Oklahoma Sentencing Commission has recommended every year to the Legislature that Oklahoma's drug laws, among the harshest in the nation -- featuring felonies for simple possession -- should be overhauled. They assert that "drug abuse is one of the few underlying causes of crime with accepted treat ment options."

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PRYOR, Okla. -- Mark Young's problem was his weight.

When he graduated high school in 1992, he weighed 275 pounds.

"Whenever you're significantly overweight, you do just about anything to make your life different," said Young.

While in college at Northeastern State University, he tried methamphetamine.

He began to lose weight, and then he began to abuse the drug.

"The abuse led to me losing everything in my life," he said.

Eventually, Young was manufacturing methamphetamine to support a habit that would control him for eight years.

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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Chris Althoff had nodded off in a drug-induced haze with a video-game controller in his hand when a police SWAT team raided his Norman home in 2004 and discovered thousands of illegal prescription pills and other narcotics.

With a previous arrest for drug trafficking already on his record, the 23-year-old was facing the possibility of life in prison because of the new charges.

"When I got arrested this last time, I knew it was over," Althoff recalled. "The sad thing was, I didn't even care."

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I am writing in regards to Greg Gotcher's April 19 column, "If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms marijuana would be legal." Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican migration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best.

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Earth Fest 2007 brought The Drug Policy Forum of Oklahoma to OSU Wednesday to rally support for a bill that would legalize medicinal marijuana use in Oklahoma.

"Cannabis is an ancient healing herb," said Jeff Pickens, treasurer of the drug policy forum. "There is no peer-reviewed medical research that shows any justifiable effects against cannabis."

Plenty of research indicates positive uses of cannabis in medicine, Pickens said.

A similar bill that allows use of marijuana for medical purposes passed in the New Mexico Legislature in March, according to The Drug War Chronicle. The legislation awaits the governor's signature.

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Tomorrow seems like just another day to the average person, but to a number of people, tomorrow's date marks a special occasion where all responsibilities and worries go up in smoke.

Why is there such a fuss about April 20? Why do all the slackers always seem to hype this date? When April 20 finally comes around they are nowhere to be found. What are they doing?

Perhaps they are just taking a day of rest to stay inside, take it easy and study.

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Peace, love, unity and respect is the motto of the rave culture, said a guest speaker for the Community Benefits of "Rave Culture."

Shara Merrill, spoke on the positive benefits of the rave culture and the stereotypes surrounding the culture Tuesday night at the Stillwater Community Center. She represents the Drug Policy Forum of Oklahoma.

She included power point slides, techno music and lighting in her presentation.

The presentation covered the growth and development of the rave culture over the past 20 years.

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