MARIJUANA WARS SET TO CONTINUE

This Time, Above the Radar

Legalize possession of marijuana? Denverites said yes to that
proposition last fall, but after surprisingly little debate. It was
almost as if opponents didn't take the group Safer Alternative for
Enjoyable Recreation and its misleading campaign seriously - and so
ignored the measure.

Needless to say they won't make that mistake again.

Last week SAFER officials said they'll gather signatures to put a
measure on next fall's ballot to legalize marijuana statewide because
Denver is still issuing tickets for possession under state law. And
while we don't exactly welcome the prospect, the initiative at least
will provide a chance for voters to consider serious arguments for
and against legalization in a context that actually makes some sense.

Legalizing marijuana in Denver amounted to little more than a
gimmick. Police and prosecutors shouldn't be expected to pick and
choose which state laws they enforce based upon local preferences.
But legalizing marijuana statewide is another matter.

Sure, marijuana would remain a controlled substance under federal law
and federal agents would still swoop in for major drug busts
involving marijuana. But state laws remain the primary tools of
criminal enforcement in this nation, meaning the overall number of
marijuana arrests presumably would collapse.

Meanwhile, legalization would send a powerful message to Washington
about public frustration with the national war on drugs.

If those observations sound like an endorsement of legalization,
they're not. They are merely an acknowledgement that good arguments
exist on both sides. We just hope voters get to hear them through
what is likely to be a din of simplistic messages.

Such claims began last week, in fact, when one proponent of
legalization declared "there has never been a recorded case of a
death from ingesting marijuana." From an overdose? Perhaps not. But
the idea that stoned motorists have never lost control of their
vehicles partly as result of their condition - to cite just one
example of marijuana-related deaths - insults voters' intelligence.

Nor do we follow the logic of those who cite the allegedly greater
dangers of alcohol and tobacco as reason to legalize marijuana. Does
anyone seriously believe that if tobacco had been outlawed many
decades ago, before its risks were fully understood, that society
would consider legalizing it today? Or that alcohol consumption would
perceptibly decline if marijuana were legally available?

No doubt some opponents will also indulge in overkill - stating
confidently, for example, that marijuana provides a "gateway" to more
lethal substances. The Drug Policy Research Center of the Rand Corp.
is not so sure. It makes a persuasive case that while marijuana users
are indeed much more likely to progress to harder drugs, the
explanation may be nothing more sinister than the natural tendency of
people predisposed to like drugs of all kinds starting with the most
easily obtained substance.

SAFER still must gather nearly 68,000 signatures, but it would be
foolish to underestimate the group after its success in Denver. If
it's determined, it will get the measure on the ballot - at which
point a real debate can finally begin.