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JnEverett

Pot critics should have a chance to speak
11-05-06 l Nevada Appeal

A Clark County judge made the right call last week when he ruled that elected officials and police officers should be able to give their views on a statewide ballot initiative that would decriminalize marijuana.

The judge said those officials have a right and a duty to publicly discuss political matters like Question 7, which would legalize marijuana possession by adults.

While we agree that's dangerous territory (you wouldn't want a school administrator advocating one school board candidate over another, for example), the marijuana advocates are building their campaign on specific assumptions that require an answer from the police and from government officials.

Specifically, they say their initiative would benefit police by freeing up their time and allowing them to focus on serious crimes. Without the input from police, we would have to accept that as fact. Yet no Nevada law enforcement agencies have stepped forward to endorse those views or to say they are unduly burdened by enforcing marijuana laws.

Likewise, the pot legalization advocates say taxing the drug would generate a great amount of tax revenue, another statement that deserves vetting by those best qualified, even if they happen to be government officials.

Do you think the marijuana advocates would be so concerned if police and government views were supportive of legalizing pot? Not very likely. The complaints filed by the group amount to an attempt to silence those who oppose them.

It represents another example of their lack of credibility in Nevada. How could we think otherwise when we watched supporters of the ballot initiative - funded almost entirely by out-of-state money - chant at an appearance of a federal drug policy official, "Czar go home, leave Nevada alone."

We wholeheartedly agree with half of what they're saying.

 

dedbr

anyone should have the right to say whatever they want whenever they want except for one thing- they need to do it on their own time, not while their on the states time clock!

They shouldn't be wearing their uniforms or driving around in state vehicles or burning up state supplied gas to drive to an appearance by the drug czar to speak out against the initiative, but they do, don't they?

And while were on the subject, why didn't this lovely branch of the media use its fine pages and readers time to show us what those fine state employees have to say about the initiative? Instead of railing about the protestor's, you could well have spent the space letting those opinions be heard......

I guess that isn't neccesary since you are presenting such a fair and unbiased side of the news, huh?


Some Where In Ded Land.........

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nornerator

No, Police and DEA agents should NOT be allowed to speak out about this issue, they make a great amount of money by keeping it illegal.

PLUS its on taxpayer money!

We elect officials

Give them money to help us

and they use this money not to help us, but to keep them in their position.

750,000+ Marijuana arrests last year certainly accounts for a good chunk of law enforcement money and time.

Obviously police jobs would be cut because there would be less need for police if Marijuana is legalized.

Asking Police and the Government whether this should be legalized is assinine. You might as well be asking them "Would you like to keep your jobs?"

Why do people feel that police and government has any sort of educated advice about a public health issue.

If marijuana was so terribly unhealthy that it should remain illegal, don't you think a group of concerned Doctors and Scientists would be speaking out? You know people that actually know what they are talking about?

Silverbackman

The government (including the police) will fight hard to keep marijuana especially illegal. Our government has never been concerned with help but rather what psychedelic drugs do to the mind. They know that the soft drugs like marijuana are dangerous because it makes people question government. They don't want another mass Vietnam protest. It has never been about health. It's about questioning the warfare state.

Also if they legalize marijuana now, they believe tha their acountability will be destroyed because of all the anti-marijuana propaganda they had in the past. It's all about power, and yes money too.