News

Is the Federal Government Starting to Acknowledge That Legalization and Regulation Are Safer Than Busting People?

Long before college student Daniel Chong nearly died after being left in a holding cell without food or water for five days in 2012, federal drug officials in San Diego knew their detention practices were deficient.

City council is being asked to take a high-minded approach to allowing future medical marijuana grow operations within city limits.

They Say Changes Could Better Help Sick Children. He Has Said His Worry Is Moving Toward Legalization.

Opinions

Michigan Moves Forward Well, we can chalk up another medical Cannabis Cup for the state of Michigan. Truth is, I was too busy to make it to Clio, although the Wyclef Jean show to cap it off would have been worth the trip on its own. At least I got to enjoy Lee DeVito's posts from the affair. I think he sent them in by carrier pigeon - an electronic pigeon.

Physicians don't want to prescribe pot; surveys indicate this overwhelmingly. The Canadian Medical Association unequivocally doesn't want them to do it either, and for years, they've issued policy statements, briefs and resolutions to their members, to the public, to the courts, and to government saying so.

America's four-decade war on drugs is responsible for many casualties, but the criminalization of marijuana has been perhaps the most destructive part of that war. The toll can be measured in dollars - billions of which are thrown away each year in the aggressive enforcement of pointless laws. It can be measured in years - whether wasted behind bars or stolen from a child who grows up fatherless. And it can be measured in lives - those damaged if not destroyed by the shockingly harsh consequences that can follow even the most minor offenses.

Back in the early 1970s, when I as in college, my campus and its surrounding town had a kind of live-and-let-live understanding about students' recreational use of marijuana. As long as local residents weren't disturbed by noise, and no damage was done to off-campus property, the tiny town's police department turned its limited manpower to other, more important matters-like making sure unauthorized people didn't use the municipal dump.

Letters

I THINK THAT the editorial regarding access to marijuana in (the July 21) Journal is excellent. As one follows developments here in New Mexico, one could be easily confused about whether the state is trying to make things more difficult for those who really need the relief in several forms or easier, as they claim.

I'm writing in response to Jodi James' thoughtful Sunday guest column, "Floridians deserve safe, legal access to medical pot."

To the Editor: Re "Repeal Prohibition, Again" (editorial, July 27): Consumers have made marijuana a multibillion-dollar enterprise, as creative entrepreneurs will always provide for citizens' desires, regardless of government approval. We should legalize marijuana, and add a sales tax. Revenues will cover the social costs of any abuse.

To the Editor: While I wholeheartedly agree with the editorial board that we need to end the federal prohibition on marijuana, Congress is not as paralyzed on this issue as many may think.

To the Editor: Thank you for your editorial calling for a repeal of marijuana prohibition. The marijuana plant is incapable of causing an overdose death. Not even aspirin can make the same claim, much less alcohol or prescription narcotics. Marijuana prohibition, on the other hand, has caused untold deaths in the form of violent drug cartel turf battles and botched "no knock" police raids on residential homes.

By keeping the state marijuana grow canopy minuscule, the Washington Liquor Control Board can keep marijuana prices high, which will help to maximize the total tax the state will collect from sales. The liquor control board has allocated 2 million square feet of marijuana grow canopy for the entire state, which is equal to 46 acres. If the state only allowed 46 acres statewide to grow apples on, we would be paying more than $1,000 for an apple.

Regarding "Free medicinal pot - only in Berkeley," editorial, July 20: Not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need, but adult recreational use should be legal and regulated. California needs to catch up with Colorado.