The drug war is largely a war on marijuana, by far the most popular illicit drug. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is tolerated. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. This country can no longer afford to subsidize the prejudices of culture warriors. Not just in Washington and Colorado but throughout the nation, it's time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana. Robert Sharpe, policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy, Arlington, Va. [end]
Wouldn't legalizing and taxing marijuana succeed in Mr. Osler's primary goal (diverting the cash flow of the drug black market away from those who currently profit) far more effectively than any plan that maintains its prohibition? Oscar Horyd, Troy [end]
Re: Mark Osler's Nov. 8 column, "Drug policy: Moral crusade or business problem?": Mr.. Osler does not understand that molecules are not the cause of the problem, prohibition is the cause of the problem. The solution is not to try to get rid of the molecules, the solution is to get rid of prohibition and restore liberty to grow God-given plants in one's own home and yard. Bill Harris, Austin, Texas [end]
Smoking tobacco should not be encouraged, yet we do not threaten tobacco growers, vendors and users with arrest and imprisonment. Now consider dangerous sports, such as mountain climbing. The death rate on Mount Everest is about one in ten of those who make it successfully, which is a vastly higher mortality rate than just about any drug used at present in a recreational manner. Malcolm Kyle, San Antonio, Texas [end]
House Speaker Open to Discussion After Voters Relaxed Laws in 9 Cities Lansing - Marijuana legalization advocates have gained momentum in Michigan after voters last Tuesday approved pot legalization proposals in three cities. The moves have gotten some attention among state legislators in Lansing, where the state House leader seems more ready to debate the issue than the Senate majority leader or Gov. Rick Snyder. House Speaker Jase Bolger "is open to having the discussion about the right policy regarding marijuana and how it is treated under state law," said Ari Adler, press secretary to the Republican House leader from Marshall. [continues 949 words]
Slowly, Americans are beginning to realize what a mess our "War on Drugs" has been. We have spent billions of dollars and prosecuted millions of people, all to little real effect. Michigan has been front and center in this sad drama. At the root of this failure is a simple error: We have treated narcotics as an issue of morality rather than business. Our efforts have been focused on punishing relatively minor actors through mass incarceration rather than on the very different goal of shutting down drug businesses. A starting point as we reconsider our efforts should be the simple recognition that narcotics trafficking is first and foremost a business. [continues 694 words]
In her Sept. 6 op-ed column, "The case against normalizing marijuana," Margaret Farenger opposes legalization of general marijuana use in Michigan because of its health risks, especially for young people. Surveys show, she said, almost all (97 percent) teen marijuana users in Oakland County tend to use other addictive substances and one in six teen users become dependent on it. Dr. Harold Voth, senior psychiatrist of the Menninger Foundation in Kansas, adds there are other negative effects of marijuana use, especially for young people. First, five marijuana cigarettes have the same cancer-causing capacity as 112 conventional cigarettes. Second, the part of the brain that enables us to focus, concentrate, learn, and conceptualize at advanced levels is still growing in teenagers, but continuous marijuana use over a period of time retards the normal growth of these brain cells. Third, a Columbia University study revealed female marijuana smokers suffer a sharp increase in damage to DNA, the genetic code, and reproductive eggs are especially vulnerable to damage by marijuana. Fourth, another Columbia study found people who smoked a single marijuana cigarette every other day for a year had a white blood count 39 percent lower than normal, thus damaging the immune system and making it more liable to infection and illness. These medical facts show that smoking marijuana is a real health hazard. [continues 51 words]
In light of the Department of Justice's announcement last month that it will not challenge Colorado and Washington's legalization efforts, there has been much discussion surrounding the possible impact these new regulatory schemes may have on children. It's completely understandable for parents to be concerned with how these evolving policies may potentially impact their child's use and accessibility to the substance. I agree with Margaret Farenger ("The Case Against Normalizing Marijuana," September 6th), that teens should not smoke pot or be consuming any mind-altering substances. These are important developmental years. [continues 506 words]
When the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) was approved by voters in 2008, many saw it as an opportunity to ease the suffering of those with painful medical conditions. Opponents of the bill described it as a step towards legalization and normalization of drug use. Their concerns appear to be well-founded. Just last week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department would defer its right to sue two states that had legalized marijuana. Now, marijuana legalization is being pushed on communities throughout Michigan. At a Ferndale City Council meeting last month, I heard the new pitch: Legalization reduces crime and makes neighborhoods safer. [continues 564 words]
Under New Policy States Free to Apply Laws OK'd Last Year Seattle (AP) - For generations, pot crusaders have called for an end to the nation's prohibition of marijuana, citing everything from what they say are the government's exaggerated claims about its dangers to the racial disparities in who gets busted for drug possession. Now, they will get their chance in Colorado and Washington state to show that legalizing pot is better, less costly and more humane than the last 75 years of prohibition - all with the federal government's blessing. [continues 429 words]
Dennis Forsberg thought he was doing everything right. He had filed all the necessary paperwork and cleared his business plan with attorneys, local government officials and law enforcement. He created new companies and got a federal tax ID number. He wasn't trying to hide anything. Yet in the end, he still got burned. On Tuesday, the 59-year-old Okemos businessman is headed to federal prison in North Carolina for three years because he found himself in the dangerous intersection between state and federal marijuana laws. His son, Lance, has already started serving a three-year sentence in West Virginia. [continues 655 words]
Latin American presidents who support decriminalization of marijuana won a big diplomatic victory in recent days when the 34-country Organization of American States issued a report that considers that option as one of several policies that might help reduce the region's drug-related violence. The 400-page OAS report, titled The Drug Problem in the Americas, had been commissioned by Latin American countries at last year's Summit of the Americas attended by President Barack Obama in Cartagena. While it doesn't make recommendations, it cites decriminalization of marijuana as one of several policy options that countries might adopt, in effect putting the option on the table. It is believed to be the first time that an international organization considers decriminalization of marijuana use as a possible drug policy. [continues 225 words]
Legislature First to OK Laws Regulating Recreational Use, Sales Denver -The Colorado legislature made history on Wednesday, becoming the first state legislature in the country to pass laws regulating recreational marijuana sales and use. Wednesday morning, the state Senate approved two measures on taxes for marijuana and on rules for marijuana stores. The House later agreed with changes made in the Senate and sent the bills to Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is expected to sign them. The votes came six months and two days after voters approved Amendment 64, which legalized limited marijuana possession and sales for those 21 and older and launched the regulatory effort that led to the bills. [continues 391 words]
We all know that a coalition of community leaders can have a vital impact when we get together, identify a problem and work together to solve it. This week, community anti-drug coalitions launched another important phase in their effort to do just that. Since the start of the Drug Free Communities program in 1997 - which I was proud to co-author with now-U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio - more than 2,000 communities have received grants through the program and eight years of evaluation have demonstrated that youth substance abuse is down in those communities. [continues 272 words]
Why beat around the bush with all this nonsense and just plain legalize it with the same restrictions as alcohol. Eventually, after a majority of the states either legalize it or have some sort of medical marijuana laws on the books, the federal government will have no choice but to legalize it as well. Warren Short, Allen Park [end]
Way to go Michigan. Make medical pot available like the voters agreed to. Thanks, representatives. Daniel M. Dewar, Pottstown, Pa. [end]
Thank you Rep. Mike Callton, R-Nashville, for stepping up for the patients and their health needs. Since December's lame-duck session turned out so many laws, why can't both houses rush House Bill 4271 through as fast as possible and help create a safe access for all involved: Police, patients and caregivers? Steven Sharpe, Jackson [end]
We have the medical marijuana stores out here in California and they are a public nuisance. They draw criminals into neighborhoods where they are located and there are armed robberies of these stores. If you are going to legalize pot for medical reasons, only sell it in pharmacies. John Grizzell, Highland, Calif. [end]
Thanks to the HB 4271 co-sponsors. They are on the right side of history. Further truth about cannabis will bring legalization. Ron Klug, Detroit [end]
Thank you for finally showing the patients' point of view. The media needs to understand that these are not criminal saturated "pot shops," they are safe access points for Michigan's patients to get their legal medicine. Stephanie Keene, Taylor [end]
