POT OF MONEY?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should visit Mendocino County before
getting too far out in front of proposals to legalize marijuana. At a
news conference in Davis recently, he said "it's time for a debate"
and suggested studying "what other countries are doing that have
legalized marijuana and other drugs. What effect did it have on those
countries?"

Well, what was the effect at home? Voters in Mendocino County
effectively legalized marijuana in 2000, passing a ballot measure
that said residents could grow pot for personal use and made
marijuana laws the last priority for local law enforcement. The
voters repealed the law in 2008, fed up with the commercial growers
who descended on a county where marijuana already was the leading cash crop.

Still, Schwarzenegger may be right. It may be time for a debate, and
it's certainly time for a thorough study of the risks and benefits of
legalization.

But, as Mendocino County's experience and more than a decade of
conflicts between states and the federal government over medical
marijuana laws show, this issue can't be settled by the states or
local voters. Congress must act on the federal law first.

The aroma of tax dollars appears to have attracted Schwarzenegger's
attention. The state Board of Equalization estimates that California
could raise $1.3 billion a year taxing pot. But the chance to tax
isn't why marijuana laws are worth reconsideration.

Better reasons are the enormous expense of decades of failed efforts
to eradicate marijuana and the increasing violence of the black
market trade -- though we couldn't accept those arguments for
legalizing other illicit drugs.

Public support for reconsideration now appears to extend beyond those
who use marijuana, for medical or recreational purposes.

A Field Poll published last week found that 56 percent of California
voters favor legalizing marijuana and taxing it. And an ABC
News/Washington Post poll found 46 percent support nationally.

For too long, marijuana has been a taboo for politicians. The federal
government has been an obstacle to any serious academic research of
marijuana's risks and values. Action must come from Washington, and
Schwarzenegger should enlist other states to press for serious
research that could be the basis for a genuine national debate about
whether marijuana laws should be changed.