News

He was a friendless high school loner struggling with autism. So why did an undercover cop target him as a drug dealer?

WASHINGTON - The growing national debate over legalizing marijuana made its way to a congressional hearing Tuesday as lawmakers sparred over what role the government should take in reconciling divergent state and federal laws on the issue.

The public hearing into proposed changes to Mountain View County's Land Use Bylaw was held last week, with several members of the public at large voicing opinions on new provisions related to the future cultivation of medical marijuana in the county.

A week after the ballot measure to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in Alaska was officially certified, five speakers debated issues surrounding the initiative to hundreds who had gathered at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium at the University of Alaska Anchorage Wednesday evening.

Opinions

SANDY KAERCHER of Chester County has a hope shared by a majority of Pennsylvanians. For Kaercher, however, the hope is very personal.

Revenue From Legalized Pot May Not Meet Expectations. MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION was a hot topic at the recent meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, for obvious reasons - among them the prospect of raising much-needed revenue by taxing pot sales. "With all the bad weather we've had back home and all the potholes, we ought to have the revenue go to infrastructure - 'pot for potholes,' " Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) said.

Expert Says Communication Between Parents, Children Is Best Education Against Abuse I dropped by my son's elementary school the other morning for D.A.R.E. graduation, a ceremony that capped weeks of anti-drug lessons taught by a local police officer. There were awards, speeches and a printed program for which each kid had penned a few sentences about why he or she would stay away from drugs.

Club accountant An old south-side Boost Mobile is now home to another entrant in the Springs' medical-marijuana scene: the three-month-old Club 5280 (1629 S. Nevada Ave., #120, clinic5280.com), which, among other things, houses 41-year-old owner Jonathan Cho's new life.

Letters

To the editor: The manner in which districts and municipalities have chosen to deal with the issue of commercial medical marijuana only demonstrates an almost wilful perpetuation of the fear-based, ill-informed policies that have proven to be absolute failures, to this point.

To the Editor: "Pivotal Point Is Seen on Legalizing Marijuana" (front page, Feb. 27) plots the political present and future of marijuana legalization without a major data point: Americans' growing intolerance for the racial injustice embedded in the enforcement of marijuana prohibition.

Re: "Legalization will create monster," by Gary Schornick, and "Compare liquor, pot prohibitions," by Kent Kelley, Saturday Letters.

It's disingenuous for the head of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, to say that the trend of marijuana legalization has made research into it more "feasible." The National Institute on Drug Abuse, under NIH, has always been the gatekeeper on marijuana research, which it has stifled over the years.

The letter written by Rebecca Finn about another election is right on. The people of Butte County voted five district supervisors to represent the majority of the voters in Butte County. Supervisors voted for tighter restrictions so, if you have five acres, you are only allowed one 5-foot by 10-foot area to grow. That amounts to two each very small plants.

After purchasing an Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper on Feb. 21, I read the opinion piece by sportswriter Jeff Schultz, "UGA's policy gets it right." Schultz was referring to the UGA athletic drug policy following the recent dismissal of a key defensive football player. His factual observations, negative feedback from football fans and comparisons with other university drug policies hit the nail on the head when distinguishing between winning at any cost versus the lives of young athletes.

Speaking as a retired detective, I heartily agree with Dan Rodricks' observation that Maryland police officers want - a little too much - to maintain marijuana prohibition ("The social fears behind the pot wars," Feb. 27). Based on my 17 years of involvement in reform, the last eight on Capitol Hill as a lobbyist and advocate, my profession has three reasons to keep marijuana illegal: money, money and emotion.