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newgrowerNY

As We See It: Pot Capital?
11-13-06|Santa Cruz Sentinel

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.

 

newgrowerNY

Now the people who voted for it must be stupid and not understand it because it passed.

I;m sorry .. alcohol is legal, but where are the thousand of people out campaigning that everyone should get drunk becasue its legal .. so it must be perfectly harmless. God forbid anyone should make a decision for themselves.

Notice how its "Drug" use .. not Marijuana use ... these are statements that are taking the real problems of the city and trying to tie it in with marijuana by using the generalizing statement of "Drugs and alcohol" In the end they have to put in something that makes it look like should be in the same boat as the rest.

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