cannabisnews.com: It's Time We Scrap Drug Laws Mired in Failure 










  It's Time We Scrap Drug Laws Mired in Failure 

Posted by CN Staff on August 24, 2002 at 21:51:13 PT
By Jeffrey A. Singer, Special for The Republic 
Source: Arizona Republic  

This November, Arizonans have the opportunity to help advance the nation into what is now mainstream thinking on drug policy. Proposition 203 will bring Arizona up to date with virtually all of the developed world in its policy toward marijuana use. Most of Western Europe has come to the conclusion that they have more important jobs for their law enforcement personnel than arresting people who smoke pot - jobs like combating terrorism and arresting thieves, murderers and rapists.
They have decided that arresting pot smokers is a poor use of valuable law enforcement resources. So they no longer do it. Prop. 203 prohibits incarceration for possession of small amounts of marijuana and puts teeth in Arizona's "medical marijuana" law. And it would free up our jails, and our police, for the real threats to our freedom and safety. A 2001 Arizona Supreme Court report showed that referral to treatment rather than incarceration, the law since 1998, was yielding positive results, with an annual savings to Arizona's treasury of at least $6.7 million. Prop. 203 builds on this success. Most of the developed world by now also recognizes that marijuana has legitimate medicinal uses, especially for cancer patients suffering under chemotherapy, AIDS patients wasting away from their disease, and others with debilitating pain and neurological syndromes.Yet, even though nine states have passed laws allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to severely and terminally ill patients, the federal government, still stuck in the mentality of the 1950s, continues to obstruct the public's will. It is as if the drug war bureaucrats, protective of their jobs, have an irrational fear of an inanimate object. That's called "voodoo."Jeffrey A. Singer M.D. is a Phoenix-area surgeon, past vice president of the Maricopa County Medical Society, and co-chairman of The People Have Spoken, sponsors of Proposition 203.Complete Title: It's Time We Join Mainstream and Scrap Drug Laws Mired in Failure Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/viewpoints/articles/0825turn0825singer.htmlSource: Arizona Republic (AZ) Author: Jeffrey A. Singer M.D.Published: August 25, 2002 Copyright: 2002 The Arizona Republic Contact: opinions arizonarepublic.com Website: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/ Related Articles:Candidate Backs Initiative To Liberalize Pot Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13788.shtmlMarijuana Initiative Qualifies for Arizona Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13727.shtml

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