SmokeyMacPot
New Member
We've said repeatedly that the national war on drugs is a failure. But that doesn't mean we favor mindlessly legalizing general marijuana use and possession at the state level.
A more enlightened federal approach would include taxes substantial enough to discourage overuse of the drug and earmarking the resulting funds to anti-drug education and treatment of victims of more serious drugs such as cocaine. A reformed federal program could also require close regulation of marijuana production to keep potencies within specified limits and serious study of the health effects of smoking pot.
Unfortunately, none of these worthy elements are included in the proposal for a statewide legalization of marijunana launched Wednesday by SAFER Colorado.
These are the same folks who got Denver voters to approve making possession and use of an ounce or less of marijuana legal for those over 21. We objected to SAFER's Denver election tactics because ads in favor of Initiative 100 pitched it as a way to make the city safer and curb domestic violence.
Mason Tvert, the group's executive director, once again is making the pitch that marijuana is a "substance far less harmful than alcohol." His assertion that people become alcoholics because marijuana is illegal is just as nonsensical now as during the Denver campaign.
The truth is both marijuana and alcohol alter perception and reflexes, which is why it's illegal to drive under the influence of either in Colorado. There's no equivalent to the Breathalyzer for marijuana use, but according to Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, roadside screening can indicate a person is on drugs, at which point an officer can demand the driver take a blood test. Refusal results in immediate revocation of driver's licenses.
This may come as a shock to Tvert, who paints it as strictly an "either-or" issue, but Clem says people driving under the influence of drugs often drink alcohol, too.
Tvert's assertion that reports on possible health effects are "all lies" is dangerously cavalier. We'd place more credence in the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which says marijuana affects the brain, and that long-term heavy users can suffer from short-term memory loss and other effects. Worse are indications of developmental deficits in babies whose mothers smoked marijuana while pregnant, those who were breast-fed by pot-smoking mothers, and early behavioral problems in marijuana-exposed kids.
It's likely SAFER will get the initiative on the ballot. But it may have a tougher time convincing conservative voters outside Denver - especially those who demand more factual information than SAFER's phony public safety pitch.
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Published: December 29, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Denver Post
Website: The Denver Post
Contact: openforum@denverpost.com
A more enlightened federal approach would include taxes substantial enough to discourage overuse of the drug and earmarking the resulting funds to anti-drug education and treatment of victims of more serious drugs such as cocaine. A reformed federal program could also require close regulation of marijuana production to keep potencies within specified limits and serious study of the health effects of smoking pot.
Unfortunately, none of these worthy elements are included in the proposal for a statewide legalization of marijunana launched Wednesday by SAFER Colorado.
These are the same folks who got Denver voters to approve making possession and use of an ounce or less of marijuana legal for those over 21. We objected to SAFER's Denver election tactics because ads in favor of Initiative 100 pitched it as a way to make the city safer and curb domestic violence.
Mason Tvert, the group's executive director, once again is making the pitch that marijuana is a "substance far less harmful than alcohol." His assertion that people become alcoholics because marijuana is illegal is just as nonsensical now as during the Denver campaign.
The truth is both marijuana and alcohol alter perception and reflexes, which is why it's illegal to drive under the influence of either in Colorado. There's no equivalent to the Breathalyzer for marijuana use, but according to Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, roadside screening can indicate a person is on drugs, at which point an officer can demand the driver take a blood test. Refusal results in immediate revocation of driver's licenses.
This may come as a shock to Tvert, who paints it as strictly an "either-or" issue, but Clem says people driving under the influence of drugs often drink alcohol, too.
Tvert's assertion that reports on possible health effects are "all lies" is dangerously cavalier. We'd place more credence in the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which says marijuana affects the brain, and that long-term heavy users can suffer from short-term memory loss and other effects. Worse are indications of developmental deficits in babies whose mothers smoked marijuana while pregnant, those who were breast-fed by pot-smoking mothers, and early behavioral problems in marijuana-exposed kids.
It's likely SAFER will get the initiative on the ballot. But it may have a tougher time convincing conservative voters outside Denver - especially those who demand more factual information than SAFER's phony public safety pitch.
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Published: December 29, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Denver Post
Website: The Denver Post
Contact: openforum@denverpost.com
