D.A.R.E. generation wants marijuana legalized

[웃 910]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew...story?track=rss

February 1st, 2010 -

Taxing and regulating has worked with cigarettes and alcohol. Why not try it with marijuana?

D.A.R.E. America Chairman Skip Miller writes in his Jan. 28 Times Op-Ed article, "Don't legalize marijuana," that his organization has been successful in its efforts to reduce illegal drug use in the U.S. by educating schoolchildren. Indeed, protecting young people has long been used to justify marijuana prohibition. But in reality, our drug laws have failed to stop marijuana use among American youth but have succeeded in punishing them with damning criminal records, loss of financial aid for college and removal from after-school activities. As a graduate of D.A.R.E., I know all too well about the shortcomings of this program and of America's war on marijuana.

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Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of the article incorrectly stated that the initiative on the 2010 ballot to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in California would impose a tax of $50 per ounce.

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The simple truth is that prohibition doesn't work, and regulation and education do. Most young people will tell you that marijuana is easy to buy despite nearly a century of prohibition that has cost billions of tax dollars and put thousands of people behind bars.

Anti-drug groups such as D.A.R.E. refuse to acknowledge that today's marijuana prohibition causes the same problems as alcohol prohibition did in the 1920s. It's no wonder, then, that D.A.R.E. has been called ineffective by the National Academy of Sciences and, in 2001, was placed under the category of "ineffective programs" by the U.S. surgeon general. The Government Accountability Office reported in 2003 that there are "no significant differences in illicit drug use between students who received D.A.R.E. . . . and students who did not."

The fact is that legalizing, taxing and regulating substances reduces the harm caused by those drugs. A University of Florida study provided statistically overwhelming evidence that raising taxes on alcohol reduces consumption. Some proposals to legalize marijuana in California would not only institute a tax of $50 per ounce, but would also channel that money into drug abuse education and prevention programs.

Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs on the planet, yet thanks to aggressive taxation in many areas and education efforts, cigarette use in the U.S. has declined sharply over the last few decades. We didn't have to arrest, incarcerate or impose prohibition to achieve those results; we merely had to tell the truth to young people about the very real harms caused by cigarette addiction while imposing taxes and age restrictions. The most recent Monitoring the Future Survey, which asks students about their drug use, shows that more 10th graders now use marijuana than cigarettes.

Legalizing and taxing marijuana won't cure California's chronic budget woes. But should we really be cutting from education while spending all the money it takes to enforce our failed prohibition policies? Furthermore, the California Tax and Regulate initiative on the November ballot would not allow the use of marijuana by people under 21. I certainly don't want more young people smoking marijuana. But some of the teens I helped as a substance-abuse counselor told me that it was easier to purchase marijuana inside their own schools than it was to buy beer or cigarettes from a convenience store. This is not what a successful policy looks like.

Many Americans are coming around to this view. Depending on the poll, either a majority or near-majority of Americans say that marijuana should be taxed and legalized. Even the American Medical Assn. has called for the federal government to review its absurd classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, which puts cannabis right alongside heroin and PCP.

D.A.R.E. can warn people all day about the harm associated with marijuana use. What it refuses to acknowledge is that these arguments only support ending prohibition. If marijuana is so dangerous, D.A.R.E. and its allies ought to support efforts to remove control over distribution from black-market drug dealers.

It's time for D.A.R.E. to take a back seat to evidence-based drug prevention programs that don't use scare tactics. It's time to legalize marijuana.

Jonathan Perri is the Western regional director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Lord Infamous

[Jasman0717 9]

Legalize it and tax the hell out of it. Heck, how much does it cost to grow pot!?!?!? Its a "weed" for Christ's sakes

[alienlovechild 75]

The fact is that legalizing, taxing and regulating substances reduces the harm caused by those drugs. A University of Florida study provided statistically overwhelming evidence that raising taxes on alcohol reduces consumption. Some proposals to legalize marijuana in California would not only institute a tax of $50 per ounce, but would also channel that money into drug abuse education and prevention programs.

Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs on the planet, yet thanks to aggressive taxation in many areas and education efforts, cigarette use in the U.S. has declined sharply over the last few decades. We didn't have to arrest, incarcerate or impose prohibition to achieve those results; we merely had to tell the truth to young people about the very real harms caused by cigarette addiction while imposing taxes and age restrictions. The most recent Monitoring the Future Survey, which asks students about their drug use, shows that more 10th graders now use marijuana than cigarettes.

$50+ for an ounce of weed is pretty cheap unless prices have gone up that much.

Cigarette use went down partly because of taxes but it became more unpopular to be a smoker so smoking is increasingly a big no-no in many public places. I don't know if there will be big backlash against more people opening smoking pot in public.

[PhiLandShiR 18]

Its not all that easy.

In order to produce a quality product that not only looks good, but also tastes and smells good requires attention while growing. It also requires a lot of water and fertilizer. As well as bug sprays.

Your basic cheap Columbian brown 'weed' is not much better than ditch weed. Once you move into the Thai Stick grade, appearance becomes everything. Even some of the higher grade 'Green' requires a nice smell in order to command top pricing.

As to legalizing it... Absolutely! Require permits to grow it, sell it and to trademark brands. Hundreds of millions of dollars are allowed to move out of the US every year because poorly educated govenment officals and non-government loud mouths have no clue what they are saying. The only reason its illegal now is is basic foolishness.

Some classic excuses are as follows:

“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.”

“…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.”

“Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death.”

“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”

“Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing”

“You smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother.”

“Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.”

1930 Treasury Department — the Federal Bureau of Narcotics — Harry J. Anslinger, director

Legalize it and tax the hell out of it. Heck, how much does it cost to grow pot!?!?!? Its a "weed" for Christ's sakes

Edited February 3, 2010 by PhiLandShiR

[The_Dude 1,142]

$50+ for an ounce of weed is pretty cheap unless prices have gone up that much.

Cigarette use went down partly because of taxes but it became more unpopular to be a smoker so smoking is increasingly a big no-no in many public places. I don't know if there will be big backlash against more people opening smoking pot in public.

I think you misread that. They are suggesting a $50 tax per ounce, not a total price tag of $50. But I do agree that if you are going to legalize it, $50 tax per ounce is a bit low.

[SMOKE 1,426]

I think you misread that. They are suggesting a $50 tax per ounce, not a total price tag of $50. But I do agree that if you are going to legalize it, $50 tax per ounce is a bit low.

i was thinking it was extremely high. considering an oz of good commercial is running about $60 & an oz of blow your head off hydro is running $250....or so i hear anyway.

[The_Dude 1,142]

i was thinking it was extremely high. considering an oz of good commercial is running about $60 & an oz of blow your head off hydro is running $250....or so i hear anyway.

$60 for an ounce? I don't care how bad it is, that is ridiculously low. That must be oregano mixed in with a few stems.

[luckytxn 2,265]

If anyone wants to do any drugs in the privacy of their own home it should be legal. It just comes down to that these are moral laws and many think it is morally wrong to do any drug. The government is trying to control the citizens even in their own homes on what should be a private matter.

[SMOKE 1,426]

$60 for an ounce? I don't care how bad it is, that is ridiculously low. That must be oregano mixed in with a few stems.

no, i hear its pretty good. things are cheaper in the midwest.

[luckytxn 2,265]

no, i hear its pretty good. things are cheaper in the midwest.

Pretty good too down this way. We are the import point so that may be.

[alienlovechild 75]

“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.”

Filipinos? My wife doesn't have any experience in smoking pot but something is wrong with herurge to listen to Kenny G's Satanic sax.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Filipinos? My wife doesn't have any experience in smoking pot but something is wrong with herurge to listen to Kenny G's Satanic sax.

Those were the reasons given in 1931 by Harry Anslinger. He began the crackdown on marijuana essentially at the behest of the DuPont family.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

[Darnell 8,479]

I hope mariajuana is legalized on the federal level - my hope is that hemp will be legalized 'sideways' as a result.

I wanna grow me about 120 acres of hemp, make paper and rope each year.

[peejay 327]

There is a huge difference between legalizing and decriminalizing. Personal use should be decriminalized, but weed should not be universally legalized. The government should continue to arrest and prosecute dealers, traffickers, and smugglers of large quantities of dope. However, I have no problem with personal users registering with the government to grow small quantities for personal use in the privacy of their own home.