cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Legalization Isn't The Answer Marijuana Legalization Isn't The Answer Posted by CN Staff on February 20, 2004 at 08:32:31 PT Nevada Appeal Editorial Board Source: Nevada Appeal Good luck to the new initiative to legalize marijuana in Nevada. And by that we mean: You'll need it. In 2002, Nevada voters turned down a similar proposal by a clear 60 percent to 40 percent vote. It didn't win support in any county.This time around, the Marijuana Policy Project has addressed one of the most glaring flaws of the 2002 initiative, which would have legalized possession by adults of up to 3 ounces of pot. The one filed this week slashes the amount to 1 ounce, putting it much closer to the "personal use" category. Backers of the initiative need 51,244 signatures by the middle of June, and we expect they'll make the goal. So expect to see the question on the November ballot.Nevada would seem to be fertile ground for marijuana legalization proponents. Its reputation for turning social convention on its head - gambling, prostitution, divorce - might encourage them to think marijuana possession would find a similar level of tolerance.Less than three years ago, however, Nevada had the toughest marijuana law in the nation. Prosecutors and judges weren't routinely handing out felony convictions, so the law was brought more into line with the reality of penalties for similar crimes and the practical matter of a prison system jammed with drug offenders.Still, Nevadans aren't tolerant of drug abuse. It remains a serious problem - one of the biggest factors behind many other crimes - in almost every community.Marijuana-legalization advocates argue their proposal is the best way to solve that problem, by regulating it, taxing it and earmarking revenues for drug- and alcohol-treatment programs. They'll also argue marijuana isn't necessarily a gateway to the most destructive drugs.But Nevadans aren't willing to make that leap in logic when it comes to marijuana, even if it's much the same logic as applies to gambling and prostitution. They simply won't go from felony to legalization.So, assuming it is on the ballot, Nevadans can send a message by defeating it by a larger margin than 2002: Legalization is not the answer.Source: Nevada Appeal (NV)Published: February 20, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Nevada AppealContact: appeal tahoe.comWebsite: http://www.nevadaappeal.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:MPPhttp://www.mpp.org/Regulate Marijuanahttp://www.regulatemarijuana.org/Effort To Legalize Marijuana Renewedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18361.shtmlLegal Marijuana Campaign Restartshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18355.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by FoM on February 20, 2004 at 21:32:53 PT U2Desire Thank you for the great information! Go Canada! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by U2Desire on February 20, 2004 at 20:33:38 PT: I AM CANNABIAN Claim: Alcohol and tobacco cause enough problems. We can't go adding another intoxicant to the legal market.Marijuana has been here for thousands of years (without documentable harm, I might add). Relative to alcohol and tobacco, marijuana is harmless.Of the social costs to the Ontario health care system attributable to drugs in 1992 (as stated in the report by the 2002 Special Senate Committee on Illicit Drugs) :69.0% were for tobacco 28.4% were for alcohol 2.0% for other illicit drugs 0.5% for cannabis As you can see, there is little reason to fear any significant "harm to society" as a result of marijuana use. In reality, if more people chose marijuana over alcohol, it is likely the health care system would become LESS burdened. As U.S. DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young said, "Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."Here's a quote from a background paper for a WHO (World Health Association) document entitled "Cannabis: a health perspective and research agenda": "On existing patterns of use, cannabis poses a much less serious public health problem than is currently posed by alcohol and tobacco in Western societies." The current prohibition of marijuana has little or no effect on consumption rates. People who are interested in trying it are highly unlikely to be dissuaded by the laws. Marijuana affects people differently. To some it is a very enjoyable experience, but to others it may be an uncomfortable one. Personal experience has much more to do with whether or not someone will become a marijuana smoker, not its legal status.Abraham Lincoln had this to say about prohibition: "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." - Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. President. Speech, 18 Dec. 1840, to Illinois House of RepresentativesThe harms associated with marijuana are not the result of anything inherent in marijuana, but rather the result of prohibition. Making pot illegal inflates the price to be literally worth it's weight in gold. As long as marijuana remains in the illegal market it will attract organized crime due to the huge profits that are possible. If the government really wanted to solve this problem they acknowledge that people will continue to consume marijuana and would allow people to cultivate a few plants for their own personal use. The market for commercially produced marijuana would fall away if people were self-sufficient and organized crime would no longer find marijuana desirable as a commodity. Legalizing and regulating marijuana would enable quality control, credible education, and age controls. Up and Coming EventsMay 1, 2004 Million Marijuana March www.cannabisclub.ca - Over 200 cities participate internationally June 5, 2004 Fill the Hill: Freedom March on Parliament Hill - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada www.fillthehill.ca [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by mayan on February 20, 2004 at 18:14:24 PT Time 4 out of 10 is almost 5 out of 10. I don't we'll need luck. We just needed a little time to pass. I bet this passes easily. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by jose melendez on February 20, 2004 at 15:20:29 PT grants for Dr. Russo, all . . . from:http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-04-016.htmlInvestigators interested in the topics of this RFA may also be interested in one or more of the following NIDA RFAs: DA-04-011, Animal Models of Adolescent Drug Abuse: Integrative Studies of Brain and Behavioral Development (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-04-011.html); DA-04-009, Behavioral and Cognitive Processes Related to Adolescent Drug Abuse (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-04-009.html); DA-04-014, Medications Development for Cannabis-Related Disorder (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-04-014.html); DA-04-013, Prevention Research for the Transition to Adulthood (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-04-013.html). [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by jose melendez on February 20, 2004 at 14:45:41 PT federal marijuana grant search link apply early and often:http://fedgrants.gov/grants/servlet/SearchServlet/lsearchservlet?q=marijuana [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by AgaetisByrjun on February 20, 2004 at 12:40:06 PT Wow I don't think I've ever seen the stereotype actually used in a real argument: pot shouldn't be legalized because it's illegal.[But Nevadans aren't willing to make that leap in logic when it comes to marijuana, even if it's much the same logic as applies to gambling and prostitution. They simply won't go from felony to legalization.] [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by yippierevolutionary on February 20, 2004 at 11:39:56 PT They make 40% of voters out like its irrelevent It was really 39%, that is a lot of people when you consider the that they threw out marijuana drivers will kill you and your kids in your mini van scare stories right before the vote [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by lilgrasshoppah77 on February 20, 2004 at 10:17:23 PT: Then what is the answer? 'Legalization isn't the answer, because legalization will make me POOR!' There is no substitute for that. Prohibition is a MONEY-MAKING RACKET, and the racketeers and power-whores at the center of it don't wanna give it up!That's why they don't offer alternatives to prohibition: nothing else pays! If the coule make money off legalization, they would be ALLLLLLL FOR IT! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Virgil on February 20, 2004 at 09:06:19 PT Wrong Legalization is not the answer.Prohibition is not the answer to anything. Legalization is the only answer for cannabis policy. We now have the prohibition laws and the media sandwiched between reason and freedom. They are between the bull and the fence where the indignation over rights-robbing and inflicted harm has the people seeing red- ink red the legalizers call it. The stonewall of prohibition has them from escaping. Here we have a media fool jumping in the middle trying to talk down the bull with prohibitionese. He is wearing his red media shirt and he thinks talking to the bull will accomplish something. He and his prohibition are going to get gored and trampled this time. Legalisation is the only answer. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by sukoi on February 20, 2004 at 08:42:03 PT Off Topic: Loretta Nall Alabama native takes drug reform battle national http://www.theplainsman.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/02/19/403426fc6dc50 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment