cannabisnews.com: As We See It: Pot Capital?










  As We See It: Pot Capital?

Posted by CN Staff on November 13, 2006 at 07:47:48 PT
Editorial 
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel 

Santa Cruz, CA -- Do the people of Santa Cruz really want marijuana to be what the city is known for? That question just may be turning into a reality, especially after the passage last week of Measure K.The ballot measure passed overwhelmingly, although we still believe that a number of voters didn't really understand the full implications of the measure.
It's part of a national effort by a well-funded group that's trying to overturn the nation's marijuana laws. They're going about the effort by picking off far-left towns like Santa Cruz to apparently convince the rest of the country that marijuana ought to be legalized.We're not convinced that marijuana is really harmless, nor are we convinced that legalizing it is really the smartest move our society could make.But were it to be legalized, we'd hate to see it done this way, where you end up with "pockets" of marijuana havens like Santa Cruz.Beyond that, Measure K is setting up some bureaucratic regulations that will be time-consuming and frustrating to follow. How would you like to be a busy city clerk who has to take time to write a letter to federal lawmakers each year, asking them to support legalized marijuana?Why should the city have to name an "oversight committee" to monitor police reports? Why would any self-respecting police officer work in that kind of atmosphere? It almost guarantees that the best cops will look elsewhere for employment.The measure also declares that it's city policy to support policies for taxation and regulation of marijuana.At one time, those who smoked marijuana were considered to be free spirits who flouted the law. But this generation of pot-promoters are more bureaucratic. They seem to be as interested in setting up procedures and policies every bit as much as they are in getting high.The serious side of this issue is that people shouldn't be encouraged to get high. Marijuana might not be the most dangerous drug in the world, but our society does not need more avenues to self-medication. One more legal way to get high is not something our society needs.Year in and year out, the local United Way Community Assessment Project report warns that the tolerance of drug use — and abuse — is one of the biggest problems facing this community. Drug and alcohol use by teens is much higher than the state and national averages.It's no joke. People's lives are made worse because of drug and alcohol use and abuse.As for Santa Cruz, drug use is a big problem. It's a problem downtown, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Marijuana is part of that problem.We don't think that Santa Cruz ought to be known as a "pot capital" of the world. That's why Measure K is not good for the city, despite the overwhelming vote to approve it.Newshawk: CelayaSource: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Published: November 13, 2006 Copyright: 2006 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/Related Articles:Skepticism Surrounds Santa Cruz's Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22369.shtmlPolice Should Focus on Other Things Besides Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22334.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help





Comment #27 posted by Hope on November 14, 2006 at 07:28:46 PT
There you are, Kaptinemo!
Good to see you. I was missing you!
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #26 posted by FoM on November 13, 2006 at 22:19:53 PT

New Neil Young Release
They are streaming the new release of Live at The Fillmore that will be available to buy tomorrow. Thought I'd pass it on.Neil and Crazy Horse Live at the Fillmore East 1970http://streamos.wbr.com/wmedia/wbr/neilyoung/audio/fillmore-east/neilyoung_live-fillmore-east_128.wax
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #25 posted by whig on November 13, 2006 at 22:02:19 PT

And, of course...
http://cannablog.org/2006/11/13/there-always-seems-to-be-music/
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #24 posted by whig on November 13, 2006 at 21:57:03 PT

Doo doo doo!
(imagine some very silly trumpets)http://cannablog.org/2006/11/13/cannabis-is-benign/
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #23 posted by whig on November 13, 2006 at 21:51:53 PT

afterburner
Huzzah!!!
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #22 posted by afterburner on November 13, 2006 at 21:11:52 PT

benign
benign
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/benignbenign1. Kind; gentle; mild. 2. (medicine) Not posing any serious threat to health; not particularly aggressive or recurrent. Huzzah!
benign
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #21 posted by afterburner on November 13, 2006 at 21:04:17 PT

P.S.
Welcome back, kap. I'm glad you were still able to partake of B.C. hospitality.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #20 posted by afterburner on November 13, 2006 at 21:00:49 PT

There's That 'Harmless' Strawman Fallacy Again
"We're not convinced that marijuana is really harmless"How about *benign*?I stole it from the following article. I like the sound of it!CN BC: Editorial: Not All Drugs Are Equal: How About Legal Pot?, Kamloops This Week, (12 Nov 2006) http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v06/n1531/a09.html?176And Safer than your medical and recreational poisons!
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #19 posted by Toker00 on November 13, 2006 at 18:53:59 PT

Kapt.
AAAyyyyeeee!!!Toke.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #18 posted by FoM on November 13, 2006 at 17:33:31 PT

kaptinemo
It's good to see you and I hope you had a wonderful time.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #17 posted by mayan on November 13, 2006 at 17:26:35 PT

Stupid Voters
The ballot measure passed overwhelmingly, although we still believe that a number of voters didn't really understand the full implications of the measure.Them stupid voters. How dare they vote when they don't even know what they'rre voting for! 

[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #16 posted by kaptinemo on November 13, 2006 at 16:56:30 PT:

I'm touched to know I was missed
Sorry, friends; I was in lovely -but very wet - British Columbia, visiting with friends on vacation. As usual, my talents in resurrecting old computers came in handy...when I wasn't attending raves or availing myself of some of the real "BC Bud". While there, I hadn't been keeping up with the news in the States all that much (and I wasn't online much at all) and am playing catch-up. But thanks for thinking of me!
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #15 posted by FoM on November 13, 2006 at 15:13:21 PT

Toker00
I hope his father is ok. He said his health wasn't good. I hope Kapt is ok. I wish Siege would drop in too.
[ Post Comment ]




 


Comment #13 posted by Toker00 on November 13, 2006 at 14:53:45 PT

FoM
I saw where you asked about Kapt. on another thread. I was wondering, too. I hope he is ok. I had hoped to see his opinion of this "Blue Revolution". Maybe he's on a working vacation or something.Toke.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #12 posted by OverwhelmSam on November 13, 2006 at 14:05:34 PT

What the Government is up Againt. Why Fight It? 
"I can go out and buy marijuana all day long, it's that prevalent," Cambridge/Greenwich Police Chief George Bell said. "It's everywhere." A number of factors play a part in that abundance, police said. With tens of thousands of acres in farmland, Washington and Saratoga counties have long been believed to be among the state's biggest producers of illicit marijuana. So every fall, pot activity seems to pick up as growers harvest their crops. And instead of having to risk buying drugs from a dealer, users can just grow their own locally. "In this area, a lot of people just go out and grow their own stash," Swartz said. "Right now is the big time of year." The advent of the Internet has made it possible for anyone with a computer to quickly research how to grow it. That, said Warren County sheriff's Investigator Kibby French, has led to more people experimenting with growing it on their own. The Glens Falls region also has a place in the middle of a national marijuana pipeline, thanks to its proximity to the Northway. The interstate highway is a major conduit to and from Indian reservations on the Canadian border that officials believe supplies a lot of the Northeast's marijuana. State Police and federal agents have seized hundreds of pounds of the drug in recent years and made dozens of marijuana possession arrests at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Essex County In December 2002, that spot on the pipeline may have played a part in the killing of a New Jersey man in a Saratoga Springs hotel room. The victim was a large-scale marijuana dealer who police believe was killed after he crossed one of his suppliers or partners. No arrest has been made. "It ( marijuana trafficking ) has become more sophisticated and much more businesslike, with bigger quantities being sold and younger people doing it," Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland said.http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1531/a07.html?999

[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #11 posted by ekim on November 13, 2006 at 13:39:32 PT

Jose -- i cant find this in archive anymore
no word on last weeks 13th Hemp Confernce in San Francisco.
today Tyson foods is sayen that the price of corn for ethanol is driving up cost of meat. Why are no reporters checking the ethanol from Hemp angle.archived
http://web.archive.org/web/20050308174819/http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/200
4/3404_technologies_lauded.html
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2004/3404_techno
logies_lauded.htmlBiomass and Solar Technologies Lauded
 Monday, July 12, 2004
Golden, Colo. - Two technologies developed by the U.S. Department of
Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory are among this year's most
significant innovations, as judged by Research & Development (R&D) Magazine.The Laboratory's two R&D 100 Awards for 2004 are for an innovative,--
lower-cost method --
for transforming plant material into the sugars that can be used to make
fuels and chemicals,and a thin-film solar cell that produces electricity directly from sunlight,
which has greater efficiency, and is lighter weight and more flexible than
previous devices.This year's announcement brings to 37 the number of R&D 100 Awards garnered
by NREL."Once again, the technologies developed by our Laboratory's researchers are
being acknowledged for their importance to the nation," said Stan Bull, NREL
associate director for science and technology. "It's particularly gratifying
that the R&D 100 Awards this year include two NREL technologies that can
enhance our nation's energy security and reduce our reliance on foreign
sources of oil."The Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Biomass Cellulose to Sugars technology is
expected to allow a wide range of biomass resources to be used to produce
energy and chemicals. It is an important step toward realizing the potential
of bio-refineries-in which plant and waste materials are used to produce an
array of fuels and chemicals, analogous to an oil refinery today.Through this technology, the cost of converting cellulosic biomass into
usable sugars can be reduced by more than 20 times per gallon of ethanol
produced.The award is shared by NREL, Genencor International and Novozymes Biotech,
Inc. NREL researchers who worked on this project included Michael Himmel,
Jim McMillan, Dan Schell, Jody Farmer, Nancy Dowe and Rafael Nieves.Also recognized for 2004 are light and flexible thin-film copper indium
gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic modules, which can be manufactured in
various sizes and have a compact, foldable design that allows for easy
deployment, transport and storage.As a result, the modules have twice the power-to-weight ratio, and three
times the power-to-size ratio as competing products. Because of this, they
are especially suited for military applications, portable power for consumer
and public use, boating and other marine applications and building-related
uses, such as for bus shelters and in PV-integrated roofing.The award is shared by NREL, Global Solar Energy and ITN Energy Systems.
NREL researchers who worked on this project included Harin Ullal, Ken
Zweibel and Bolko von Roedern.NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's premier laboratory for renewable
energy research and development and a leading laboratory for energy
efficiency R&D. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and
Battelle.For further information contact NREL Public Affairs at (303) 275-4090.NR-3404
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #10 posted by Max Flowers on November 13, 2006 at 10:39:17 PT

USA not FSA
Sounds like a domain to me! usanotfsa.orgSomeone grab it quick and form an organization around it?
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #9 posted by ekim on November 13, 2006 at 10:10:22 PT

Law Enforcement Agaisnt Prohibition -LEAP-
Nov 17 06 SSDP National Conference N/A Howard Wooldridge Washington District of Columbia USA 
 LEAP members will be at a booth for the Students for Sensible Drug Policy National conference in Washington D.C. Open to registered attendees (to become registered go to www.ssdp.org) at Georgetown University Law Center. Matt Fogg, Eric Sterling, Bill Murphy and Howard Wooldridge will be speaking. 
 
Nov 18 06 Al Capone to Al Qaeda: Neo-prohibition and the Black Market: Just say know SSDP 09:30 AM Peter Christ Washington District of Columbia USA 
 Panel to include Peter Christ and others. Open to registered guests only, to become registered go to www.ssdp.org Nov 18 06 "Just Say Know" SSDP 2006 International Conference 08:00 AM Howard Wooldridge Washington District of Columbia USA 
 Open to registered guests. To become registered go to www.ssdp.org. 

http://www.leap.cc/events/
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #8 posted by Toker00 on November 13, 2006 at 09:50:47 PT

Whig
"Especially absurd was your pretended opposition to "pockets" of re-legalization, as if South Dakota should have a veto over Santa Cruz."That's it, whig. The Nation has forgotten we are FIFTY STATES! Each one a separate STATE. Governed by the people IN THAT STATE! We have the opportunity for fifty separate decisions to be made by fifty different governing bodies. THEY want us to think we are ONE FEDERAL STATE. We are the "UNITED STATES" of America. Not the Federal State of America. USA, not FSA.Toke.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #7 posted by potpal on November 13, 2006 at 09:50:14 PT

pot capital
We don't think that Santa Cruz ought to be known as a "pot capital" of the world...Don't flatter yourself. Santa Cruz is far from the capital. With people like the author of this editorial living there, it will never be. I'd give the crown to Denver, here in the USA, Amsterdam, gets my vote for world capital. However, the way things are going here at home, a big YES in 2008, may bring the crown home!
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #6 posted by Celaya on November 13, 2006 at 09:48:08 PT

FoM
Glad you could post this article. As the wall of marijuana prohibition falls, lots of bigots - like the Santa Cruz Sentinel - are going to be deservedly crushed by it. I can't wait! 8^)
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #5 posted by whig on November 13, 2006 at 09:36:51 PT

Unsent LTE
To the Santa Cruz Sentinel:Do you outsource your writing to the Drug Czar's office? You insult your readers and your own credibility with this. Especially absurd was your pretended opposition to "pockets" of relegalization, as if South Dakota should have a veto over Santa Cruz.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on November 13, 2006 at 09:23:47 PT

The prohibitionist's nightmare
At one time, those who smoked marijuana were considered to be free spirits who flouted the law. But this generation of pot-promoters are more bureaucratic. They seem to be as interested in setting up procedures and policies every bit as much as they are in getting high.This little paragraph made me laugh out loud. Allow me to translate: "Hey wait a minute! Once upon a time, stoners were just these irresponsible long-haired freaks who didn't participate in society, and whom we could marginalize and abuse and ignore! What happened?! When did they become assertive, civil-minded people who know how to stand up for themselves and their rights? My world is collapsing! Aaaagh!"Now I know a COP wrote this crap. The second time I read it through, I knew for sure.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #3 posted by Max Flowers on November 13, 2006 at 09:17:59 PT

The misguided
Let's hope, for Santa Cruz' sake, that people with attitudes like the editorial writer are a tiny minority there.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #2 posted by thestales on November 13, 2006 at 08:36:32 PT

Not Good?
Wha, Wha, What!?!?Not good for the city. Anything that gives the police more time and manpower to go after crimes with victims is a good thing. Please don't kid yourself with this "marijuana problem". Even if 50% of the city smoked every day there would be little issues so long as it is not in a black market."One more legal way to get high is not something our society needs."Neither are black markets, lies and misinformation.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on November 13, 2006 at 08:28:21 PT

Ugly, ugly, ugly
Wow, careful Sentinel, your hatred is showing. Look at this:Why should the city have to name an "oversight committee" to monitor police reports? Why would any self-respecting police officer work in that kind of atmosphere? It almost guarantees that the best cops will look elsewhere for employment.This is one of the more frightening things I've ever seen in print!  What the hell is wrong with these people? OF COURSE the cops need civilian oversight! Have these people been living in a cave?  Many cops are evil, sadistic people that need to be kept on a tight leash at all times! These are high-school educated, blue-collar workers, not social scientists, or judges, or priests.The only thing the oversight board will guarantee is that dirty cops, rogue officers, and sadists will look elsewhere for work. Honest cops that want to protect people and help people improve their lives will want to work in Santa Cruz. But that's not what the Sentinel wants. They want to give the armed thugs complete power over us.  I hate to break it to you guys, Santa Cruz has been a MJ "haven" for 50 years! Why are you still living there? Go join the other haters in Placer County.I hope we're all going to write an LTE. I'm going to do one now.
[ Post Comment ]






  Post Comment