Legalizing marijuana a matter of compassion Thirty or so years ago, cancer claimed the life of one of my favorite aunts. Aunt Dorothy was a delightful Oklahoma born and bred woman who migrated in the 1950s to suburban San Francisco, where she and my grocer uncle lived in the coolest little house overlooking the Pacific. Her death was agonizing. The treatments not only failed to arrest the cancer, but also made her incredibly nauseous. In a desperate quest to improve her quality of life, her family embraced the only thing that provided relief: marijuana. [continues 1057 words]
The drug war (reference column Sept. 16) is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2010, there were 853,839 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. Decriminalization is a long overdue step in the right direction. Taxing and regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete. As long as organized crime controls distribution, marijuana consumers will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
Darrell Weaver still remembers the first time he listened in on an illegal drug transaction. He was a rookie law enforcement agent and he couldn't believe such things were going on in rural Oklahoma. "My parents would have killed us if we were involved in something like that. I had no idea what was going on out there," he said. Friday marked 25 years since Weaver began as an agent with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. He chose police work after the 1984 bank robbery in Geronimo, Oklahoma where robbers killed four persons. "I knew from then on what I wanted to do," he said. [continues 307 words]
Regarding "DA accuses board of expediting release of ineligible inmates" (News, Aug. 9): The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board was clearly trying to right a wrong when it pardoned Patricia Spottedcrow, who was given an unjustly harsh sentence, especially for a first-time offender. She was incarcerated for selling $31 worth of marijuana and got a 12-year sentence. Yes, her action was illegal, but she already paid the price in time served. Spottedcrow was sent to prison instead of given the chance to participate in a women's program for nonviolent offenders. Her children were denied her presence as she was sentenced to a prison at a distance. [continues 94 words]
EDMOND - People should not have to fight their government in order to ease their pain, said Richard Prawdzienski, an Independent state Senate District 41 candidate. He supports amending state law to allow for medical marijuana use for Oklahomans, he said. Prawdzienski will face Republican incumbent state Sen. Clark Jolley Nov. 6 in the general election. Both men live in Edmond. Now retired, Prawdzienski served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked in logistics at Tinker Air Force Base. He also has been active in the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma and is former chairman of the group. [continues 513 words]
Ada - Growers who attempted to cultivate an estimated 6,000 "high-quality" marijuana plants on a patch of land north of Ada didn't just pick the wrong area for their illegal enterprise - they picked the wrong state. "Our drug eradication program is really a model for the entire country. Agents from all over the country come to our school," Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics spokesman Mark Woodward said Tuesday afternoon. Approximately 35 OBN agents and another 20 Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police and District 22 Task Force officers - acting on an anonymous tip - had discovered the plants. Some of the marijuana plants were 6 to 8 feet tall and had a street value estimated at $9 million. "That's evidence that the people (involved in growing the drug) weren't from around here," Woodward said. "If they had known how good we are at what we do, they probably wouldn't have come to Oklahoma to grow their marijuana." [end]
In California, sandwich-board walkers advertise where to get legal marijuana for medicinal reasons and what symptoms will get you a prescription. In Oklahoma, a proponent of medical marijuana can't get a hearing from the conservative state legislature on her bill. Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, remains optimistic. "The legislative process moves slowly. It's taken seven years just to get a study, and even that's not a given," Johnson said. "I'm an eternal optimist, and I'm optimistic that it will get a hearing one day. Things are changing. [continues 115 words]
Sen. Constance Johnson Believes Attitudes Are Changing. OKLAHOMA CITY - A longtime proponent of medicinal marijuana, state Sen. Constance Johnson, acknowledges she has few open advocates in the conservative Oklahoma Legislature. But the Oklahoma City Democrat said she remains optimistic that attitudes toward easing Oklahoma's tough marijuana laws are shifting, and she said her hopes are buoyed by the possibility of the Republicancontrolled Senate approving a study on the benefits of medicinal marijuana. Johnson, D-OklahomaCity, has introduced a medicinal marijuana bill every year since she was first elected in 2005, but has yet to receive a hearing in committee. Now she is petitioning the Republican chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to allow a study before the Legislature reconvenes in February. [continues 733 words]
Recently, a brave soul introduced a bill in the Oklahoma Legislature to legalize medical marijuana. Without going into the merits of such an undertaking, or its broader implications and possibilities, I would like to comment on one group strongly opposed to any such legislation: the drug cartels and street gangs. Anyone opposing the legalization of marijuana has the narco-terrorists block firmly at their back. They know any intelligent revision of the current criminal statutes would do the most harm imaginable to their existence. Certainly more so than any quasi-military or police efforts are doing. [continues 144 words]
Sen. Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, said Saturday he would oppose a proposed interim legislative study into the medicinal use of marijuana. "I don't support legalizing marijuana, and I don't think the Oklahoma legislature will support it," Anderson said. Anderson's comments were in response to a petition from Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Forest Park, filed with the Senate Health and Human Services Committee for an interim study into legalizing the medicinal use of the drug. Johnson's petition is the latest in a long string of attempts to bring the medicinal marijuana issue before the full Senate. Johnson has introduced a medicinal marijuana bill every year since she first was elected in 2005, but has yet to receive a hearing in committee. [continues 871 words]
Regarding "OKC raids disrupt meth ring, net arrests" (News, July 17): The meth addicts and meth producers arrested will soon be replaced. They always are. I have a simple solution that would eliminate 99 percent of the illegal meth labs. The solution is Desoxyn, the pharmaceutical form of methamphetamine legally available in local pharmacies for less than $2 per dose with a doctor's prescription. Start selling it at local pharmacies without a prescription - with no questions asked - to any adult just like we do with tobacco products - except there should be no advertising or promotion of the product. [continues 83 words]
Gov. Mary Fallin has agreed to early release for inmate Patricia Spottedcrow, a young mother whose story of a lengthy sentence for a small marijuana deal was featured in a Tulsa World series on Women in Prison. Under the governor's stipulations, Spottedcrow will be required to complete 120 days at a community-level Department of Corrections facility before she is released. Spottedcrow, 27, was originally handed a 12-year sentence in a blind plea before a judge for selling $31 worth of marijuana to a police informant. It was a first-time offense, but because children were in Spottedcrow's home when she was arrested, a charge was added for possession of a dangerous substance in the presence of a minor. [continues 436 words]
On Thursday, representatives from Health Advocates Rejecting Marijuana (HARM), spoke to an audience at the conference center at Choctaw Casino in Durant about the danger and prevention of marijuana use. The conference was hosted by the Bryan County Turning point Drug Free Community Coalition and the Wichita Mountains Prevention Network. The goals of HARM are "to decrease the accessibility/ availability of marijuana-related paraphernalia and to minimize messages that encourage, normalize or trivialize marijuana use" and "to reduce marijuana use by youth, to lessen the problems associated with the accessibility and use of marijuana by youth and to change the perception that marijuana is harmless." [continues 482 words]
I saw an image on the Internet the other day that says "Marijuana Never Hurt Anyone." I thought to myself, "You've got to be joking!" After all, there's got to be a reason it's illegal in most countries. They couldn't all be wrong. In only a few minutes of research I found more data on the dangers of pot than I could print here. Beyond that, a missionary friend of mine sent word just a few days ago of some very disturbing news that happened just across the U.S./Mexico border. Here is part of what he said: "23 people were killed yesterday (May 4) in Nuevo Laredo, just across the line from Laredo, Texas. Nine bodies were found hanging from a very busy bridge. 14 decapitated heads were delivered to city hall in coolers. The 14 bodies were found in a car left by one of the bridges to the states." [continues 289 words]
Seizure of $40K just latest in over $800K seized by sheriff's office over last 3 years Muskogee County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Gragg says 80 percent of crime leads to drugs in some way. Gragg says best way to stop the illegal flow of drugs is on the highway. "Because what happens is the drugs come in on the highway and end up in the smaller cities, and at that point it's almost too late," Gragg said. A state law allows law enforcement officers to seize money and property suspected of being the fruits of illegal activity. The person is given notice of the seizure and is allowed the opportunity to prove it was not part of illegal activity. [continues 357 words]
TEWKSBURY, Mass. - Russ Caswell, 68, is bewildered: "What country are we in?" He and his wife, Pat, are ensnared in a Kafkaesque nightmare unfolding in Orwellian language. This town's police department is conniving with the federal government to circumvent Massachusetts law - which is less permissive than federal law - in order to seize his livelihood and retirement asset. In a lawsuit, the government is suing an inanimate object, the motel Caswell's father built in 1955. The U.S. Department of Justice intends to seize it, sell it for perhaps $1.5 million and give up to 80 percent of that to the Tewksbury Police Department, whose budget is just $5.5 million. The Caswells have not been charged with, let alone convicted of, a crime. [continues 516 words]
WASHINGTON - Amelioration of today's drug problem requires Americans to understand the significance of the 80/20 ratio. Twenty percent of American drinkers consume 80 percent of the alcohol sold here. The same 80-20 split obtains among users of illicit drugs. About 3 million people - less than 1 percent of America's population - consume 80 percent of illegal hard drugs. Drug trafficking organizations can be most efficiently injured by changing the behavior of the 20 percent of heavy users, and we are learning how to do so. Reducing consumption by the 80 percent of casual users will not substantially reduce the northward flow of drugs or the southward flow of money. [continues 532 words]
WASHINGTON - The human nervous system interacts in pleasing and addictive ways with certain molecules derived from some plants, which is why humans may have developed beer before they developed bread. Psychoactive - consciousnessaltering - and addictive drugs are natural, a fact that should immunize policymakers against extravagant hopes as they cope with America's drug problem, which is convulsing some nations to our south. The costs - human, financial and social - of combating (most) drugs are prompting calls for decriminalization or legalization. America should, however, learn from the psychoactive drug used by a majority of American adults - alcohol. [continues 526 words]
OKLAHOMA House Bill 2388 pits taxpayers against tax consumers, conservatives against liberals, one drug policy against another drug policy and ideology against pragmatism. Article Gallery: TANF drug-testing proposal should be vetted by courts first How can one bill do all that? By mandating drug tests as a condition for getting welfare benefits. Private firms test job applicants for drugs. Why shouldn't the state? This seems like an easy call. It's not. Matters of public policy should themselves be subject to testing: What's broken that needs fixing? What would the policy cost? How much money, if any, would it save? Who would be helped by the policy? Who would be hurt? [continues 429 words]
In response to B.G. Nolen (Your Views, March 16): Many judges and prison wardens have said that 70 percent to 80 percent of all property crime and violent crime is drug-related. Actually, nearly 100 percent of all so-called drug-related crime is caused by drug prohibition policies - not drugs. When Coca-Cola contained cocaine instead of caffeine and sold for 5 cents a bottle, the term "drug-related crime" didn't exist. Neither did drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today. [continues 95 words]
"Addiction costs Oklahoma an estimated $7.2B a year" (News, March 10) was a nice addendum to your continuing coverage of Oklahoma's drug problem. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to solve a demand problem by spending money on the supply side. Consider how well the Volstead Act worked to stop the consumption of alcohol in the United States in the 1920s. Or how well the "War on Drugs" is now working. In the 1880s, Philadelphia economist Charles Sumner wrote this in regard to alcoholism: "Social evils tend to eliminate themselves." [continues 209 words]
The Rev. Pat Robertson recently caused an uproar when he stated that marijuana should be made legal, like tobacco and liquor. Years ago I would have thought that Robertson had lost his mind. However, after 30 years of watching the "War on Drugs" fail to slow down the use of illegal drugs, and watching our prisons fill with drug users, I believe Robertson is right. Society would be better off if certain illegal drugs were legalized. I was born in the 1930s and have never taken a single illegal drug, so I'm not a drug user wanting a change for any personal benefit. My family has watched a family member's life destroyed from illegal drug use. So I know all too well the damage that illegal drugs can do to a user. [continues 95 words]
Pro-Drug Legalization Forces Are Gaining Clout For the first time since the United States launched its "war on drugs" four decades ago, there are signs that the forces supporting legalization or decriminalization of illegal drugs are gaining momentum across the hemisphere. Granted, this is a debate that is just starting at government levels, and that will take years to produce concrete results. But there are several new factors, including a reduction of U.S. anti- narcotic aid to Latin America proposed by the Obama administration in its 2013 budget announced earlier this month, that are beginning to pose an increasingly serious challenge to the traditional interdiction-based U.S. anti-drug strategies. [continues 646 words]
I agree with B.J. Brockett (Your Views, Sept. 7) and his solution to the drug problems. This has been my solution for many years. It's impossible to keep people from using drugs so let them have all they want and they'll take care of the problem by themselves. It would save the lives of people getting killed or injured buying and selling drugs and end robberies of homes of innocent people. There would be no more drug dealers trying to sell drugs at schools and no more pharmacy holdups. Bobbie Turney, Edmond [end]
NORMAN -- Editor, The Transcript: As my colleagues fly around in helicopters, pedophiles are not being caught in the Internet chat rooms, as they entice young teens to "meet in real life." My profession shrinks by the day, and chasing after a green plant should be at the bottom of our priority list. In my experience, marijuana is too dangerous to leave in the hands of criminals and cartels. It should be handled like alcohol. Can anyone explain how marijuana prohibition is helping our young people, since it is easier for them to buy pot than whiskey? Det./Officer Howard Wooldridge (retired) Norman [end]
NORMAN - The continuing drought makes it easier for Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics agents to spot suspected marijuana plots from the air. The plants are often the only areas that appear to have been watered. From 1,000 feet up, the green shine stands out among dead grass and weeds. The bureau displayed its equipment and firepower for law enforcement, community leaders, judges and the media at Max Westheimer Field on Wednesday. Director Darrell Weaver said marijuana eradication is a community issue and should not be solely the concern of law enforcement. Indeed, it is a community problem that will take a changing mindset. Marijuana cultivation is big business in some areas of the state. Most of the larger growing operations are located in the eastern parts of the state, but Cleveland County has numerous plots. [continues 97 words]
Oklahoma State Senator Connie Johnson thinks Larry Yarbrough should be free. Larry, a model prisoner, is in his 17th year of a life-without-parole sentence for a nonviolent drug crime. On August 17, Sen. Johnson will speak on behalf of Yarbrough at an Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board hearing that will be considering commuting Larry Yarbrough's drug trafficking sentencing. In 2002 the Board unanimously commuted his sentence, but former governor Frank Keating overturned that decision and denied Larry his freedom. [continues 788 words]
Defense attorneys in a federal corruption trial involving two Tulsa Police officers pointed to inconsistencies in statements of one government witness and questioned the motives of another during Friday's proceedings. In the fifth day of testimony against Officers Jeff Henderson, 38, and Bill Yelton, 50, an informant used by the partners said she received Christmas gifts of perfume and marijuana from Henderson. Henderson and Yelton were indicted under seal July 19, 2010, and special prosecutors and U.S. District Judge Bruce Black of New Mexico were appointed to handle the case. [continues 1199 words]
NORMAN -- Seventy percent of firearms seized in Mexico were submitted to a United States gun-tracing program. The figure could be higher, as investigators couldn't determine the origin of nearly 9,000 seized weapons. It's further evidence of the many ways the U.S. has contributed to Mexico's violent path. America's insatiable demand for drugs has fueled cartels to turn to violence in controlling supply lines. Three U.S. senators released the weapons report this week. Of the 29,284 firearms recovered by Mexican authorities in 2009 and 2010, 20,504 came from the United States. [continues 108 words]
Emily Linville grew up hearing how to illegally call in a drug prescription. It was that knowledge that landed her, a sister and their mother in Tulsa County's Drug Court at the same time. But, only Linville has graduated from Drug Court. Her sister, Mary Beth Linville, 25, violated program rules and was sent to prison in January to serve four years for prescription drug fraud and bogus checks. Their mother, Mary Kathleen Linville, 52, was charged Dec. 16 with four counts on attempting to obtain prescription drugs by fraud. Her previous convictions include prescription drug fraud in 2007 and 2008 and an escape from prison. In 2004, she was convicted in Creek County of prescription drug fraud. [continues 178 words]
Justice System Examined in Oklahoma's Top-Rank for Female Incarcerations Editor's Note-Oklahoma Watch is an independent investigative and in-depth reporting team that partners with news organizations and higher education to produce impact journalism in the public interest. This is the first installment in a series of stories in which Oklahoma Watch, the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman are examining the issue of Oklahoma's female incarceration rate. For more, visit tulsaworld.com/okwatch. In 1908, Kate Barnard, Oklahoma's feisty first commissioner of charities and corrections, traveled to Kansas to investigate the alleged torture and mistreatment of Oklahoma prisoners. Oklahoma federal prisoners - and Oklahoma Territory's felons before them - were incarcerated in the state penitentiary in Lansing, Kan., because the new state had no prison. Barnard, elected to her state post before women had the right to vote, had been instrumental in lobbying the first Legislature to adopt prison laws that were then among the most progressive in the nation. "In Oklahoma," she had said, "we would do differently." [continues 1663 words]
Dear Editor of the Daily O'Collegian, Calvin Warner got an arrow-splitting bull's eye (Legalized pot could reduce deficit, Nov. 9, 2010) exposing cannabis (marijuana) prohibition and extermination as more harmful than the plant itself. Another reason to legalize cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it is Biblically correct because God, The Ecologician, indicates He created all the seed bearing plants saying they are all good on literally the very first page (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is to accept it with thankfulness (1 Timothy 4:1-5). What kind of government cages responsible humans for using what God says is good? Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
Since 1937, marijuana has been an illegal substance in the United States. In recent years, there has been some resurgence of dissenters to this law, but even today they are generally cast aside as "potheads" or as immoral and radical. Yet, after examining the facts, I realized that I too found myself an advocate of legalizing marijuana. In fact, I began to think that, in a time of recession and deficit like the present, perhaps we can't afford not to. [continues 475 words]
One veteran law enforcement agent believes drug education is something that should be a regular part of the curriculum in schools and not just done during special times like Red Ribbon Week. That was one the points made this week by Dub Turner, who brought a very serious drug prevention message to Pauls Valley's junior high students. Local schools brought in different speakers and offered a variety of activities as part of this week's Red Ribbon campaign, which is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. [continues 297 words]
Re-legalizing cannabis (marijuana) alone will lower incarceration rates. Ending cannabis prohibition will also reduce hard drug addiction rates, which in turn lowers crime rates. Responsible adults who use the relatively safe, God-given plant cannabis often purchase it from people who also sell hard drugs, which increases the likelihood of hard drug addiction. RE-legalizing cannabis will eliminate that gateway effect. Another reason cannabis prohibition increases hard drug addiction rates is due to DARE telling lies, half-truths and propaganda regarding the plant. How many people heard DARE say cannabis was very bad and then realize it's not nearly as bad as claimed and think other substances must not be so bad either only to become addicted to honest hard drugs? Further, ending the sequel to prohibition will save wasted valuable limited law enforcement resources, read taxes. It may also decrease alcoholism and contempt for laws and government. Legalizing cannabis is one of the most important issues of our time. Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 2008 over 7.3 million people were on probation, in jail or prison or on parole at the year's end. That means that right now, at any given time, about 3.2 percent of all U.S. adults are under correctional supervision. Out of that 7.3 million, about 2.5 million are prisoners. The U.S. has 2.5 million people locked away at this moment. In fact, when you look at comparisons to other developed countries, you notice that it's a lot of people, not only by the number of prisoners, but also by proportion of the population. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rates in the world. [continues 539 words]
Law officers have seized marijuana plants by the hundreds in recent weeks, from sophisticated indoor growing operations to massive outdoor farms tended by growers who work for Mexican cartels. In west Tulsa County, deputies even found it growing in trees. It's the time of year that pot busts abound, the harvest season for outdoor growing, said Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. "This is the time of year that the plants are so large they are easier to see from the air," Woodward said, referring to the bureau's efforts to spot pot patches from planes. [continues 606 words]
Following the recent indictment of several Tulsa police officers, the district attorney's office has widened its review of drug cases to include cases that involve eight officers whose names have surfaced in a grand jury investigation. District Attorney Tim Harris' office told the Tulsa World that the number of cases under review has grown exponentially since the indictment of five police officers and the naming of two additional officers cooperating with U.S. Attorney Jane W. Duke of the Eastern District of Arkansas. An eighth officer has pleaded guilty. [continues 1049 words]
As digital drugs or i-dosing appears in Oklahoma, experts warn that it's not the sounds themselves that should worry parents. The websites where the tones are sold entice young people down a slippery slope, they say. Schools and drug experts are warning parents to beware of "digital drugs" that Mustang High School students blamed for their apparent intoxication. Three students were sent to the principal's office when they appeared to be high on drugs or alcohol in March, said Mustang School District Superintendent Bonnie Lightfoot. She said the kids explained that they had tried something called "i-dosers." [continues 672 words]
The one-pot recipe for methamphetamine is spreading and the addiction isn't stopping in Oklahoma. Only rumors hint at the origins of a recipe poisoning Oklahomans. Some credit a college chemistry student paid to perfect the process. Others say incarcerated drug cooks created a new method. However it came about, the "one-pot" or "shake and bake" process of cooking methamphetamine is spreading. By May's end, law enforcement officers reported seizing nearly 300 meth labs, putting the state on track to exceed the 743 labs found in 2009, data from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control shows. [continues 701 words]
In Wednesday the 14th's letters to the editor, a retired detective argued that the government had a duty to protect the people from putting harmful substances into our bodies. He was speaking about smoking marijuana. He then went on to say that if you step outside of cigarettes, alcohol, Prozac, or Valium you will be punished in order to protect you from whatever harmful substance you used, implying that these substances are harmless. I would like to point out that CDC statistics state that alcohol directly cause over 22,000 deaths in the US in 2006, and indirect deaths are estimated at over 100,000. This number has increased every year since. The CDC also estimates that around 443,000 die as a result of exposure to tobacco or tobacco smoke. Not to mention the costly addiction that makes it difficult to stop. Prozac and Valium have the potential to kill upon overdose, and can cause dependence after prolonged use. The current direct death toll from Marijuana is 0. No one has ever died from smoking pot. [continues 115 words]
Regarding marijuana prohibition, the government has an interest, nay a duty, to protect its citizens from harmful subtances they might put in their body. Thus that government imposes punishment for doing so, in the name of protecting the citizen. This is a rational course of action, if that country is run by nanny-state liberals who believe the government is the solution to all problems. Prohibition is a policy whereby the government threatens its citizens with punishment, backed up by the police, prosecutors and prisons, for anyone who steps outside the box of alcohol, tobacco, Prozac and Valium. Yes, in regards to our bodies, they are owned by the Big Brother. Detective/Officer Howard Wooldridge (retired) Drug Policy Specialist, COP [end]
I'm writing about Jess Eddy's thoughtful column: "Marijuana laws oppress us all". Marijuana is the foundation of our so-called war on drugs. Remove marijuana from the equation and the whole drug war will collapse. The so-called war on drugs is a huge industry and huge bureaucracy. Victory in the drug war is not possible, nor is it the goal. Victory in the drug war would mean that the drug war industry and bureaucracy are out of business. [continues 159 words]
Dear Editor, Regarding Jess Eddy's April 9th 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 immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. [continues 135 words]
Dear Editor, Philip Reiser got an arrow splitting bull's-eye (Legalize It, End A War, April 6, 2010) calling for credible drug law reform. Re-legalizing the relatively safe, God-given plant cannabis (marijuana) alone would make a world of difference. It's extremely popular, safer than beer, wine or whiskey, can not ever cause an overdose and accounts to 60% to 70% of cartels business according to government. Cannabis should be regulated and taxed. Another reason to stop caging responsible adults for using cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it's Biblically correct since Christ God Our Father, The Ecologician, indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page (Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness; - -see 1 Timothy 4:1-5 (Apostasy), where it also seems to Biblically predict cannabis prohibition before it occurs and further, specifically identifies the type of people who will be responsible for the plants prohibition. Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, CO [end]
To the Editor of The Collegian: I'm writing about Philip Reiser's thoughtful column: "Legalize it, end a war". The only way to effectively deal with the Mexican drug cartels is to dismantle them same way we dismantled the alcohol cartels in 1933. Of course, many drug war cheerleaders will proclaim that drug use and abuse will skyrocket. In the Netherlands where marijuana has been quasi legal for several decades, the Dutch use marijuana at less than half the rate American's do. And they use heroin at less than a third the rate American's do. [continues 127 words]
More than 847,000 individuals are arrested per year in America due to repressive marijuana laws. It is puzzling to me that it is legal to purchase, distribute and consume alcohol and tobacco, yet marijuana remains a criminal substance. Roughly 50,000 people die from alcohol poisoning and 400,000 due to health complications attributed to tobacco usage every single year. Marijuana has yet to take a single life. According to the medical journal The Lancet, marijuana causes no harm to an individual's health. [continues 433 words]
Considering that I'm a Republican who has never smoked marijuana in my life, and don't ever care to in the future, I'm probably not the most likely candidate for supporting the legalization of marijuana. However, the state of the war on drugs has forced me to conclude that the legalization of marijuana is good foreign policy. According to the BBC, our insatiable desire for drugs has left 18,000 Mexicans dead since 2006, as drug cartels lash out with ever increasing violence. [continues 366 words]
The drug violence in Mexico, which has escalated into a full-fledged war, has caused over 10,000 casualties since January 2007, according to the LA Times. Others estimate the number of dead at up to 18,000. What is even more shocking than the death toll is the brutality and ruthlessness of the drug gang members and their morbid methods. There are many horror stories, such as that of the murder of the police chief of Veracruz who was killed by the cartel known as Los Zetas last year. [continues 492 words]
Tomorrow, the calendar turns to April, which just happens to be the same month for American's most celebrated underground holiday, 4/20. On April 20th, any stoner worth his weight in weed will get high, and those who went before them will fondly recall the days of their stoner glory. The holiday represents a unified act of civil disobedience. But, it doesn't always have to. Our country's attitude toward marijuana would be humorously absurd if it were fictitious. [continues 484 words]
Inside Oklahoma
