cannabisnews.com: Prop. 19's Legal Marijuana Could Improve Safety
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Prop. 19's Legal Marijuana Could Improve Safety
Posted by CN Staff on October 12, 2010 at 05:20:25 PT
By Chip Johnson
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco -- For most California voters, Proposition 19 is a state initiative that would make recreational marijuana use legal, but I think the plan has social benefits that go well beyond legal pot parties.In the long run, a successful November run at the polls could provide a public safety payoff in low-income communities where street-drug dealing qualifies as a thriving commercial enterprise.
The residual effect of drug-dealing is violence, which has decimated the communities where the drugs are sold. Generations of families have been lost to the cycle of drugs and violence and profits that, for some, are worth risking their lives over.If there is a new law that holds even a chance of cutting drug profits and gun money from local drug kingpins and foreign suppliers, it's worth a try.Last month, Pleasant Hill Police Chief Pete Dunbar told The Chronicle's editorial board that violence associated with street sales of marijuana made it "the most violent drug of all."If that's the case, and there's no reason to doubt Dunbar's assessment, then why not control and regulate the market? I can't count how many times I've heard politicians and police officials say that society cannot "arrest its way out of high crime rates."Most economists will tell you that as a commodity becomes more available, its value falls. So why not use government regulation to distribute and control the price to undercut illegal marijuana sales right out of existence.Do you think the speakeasy bars thrived after Prohibition was repealed?As the argument in favor goes, those reduced costs are passed down the chain, from the criminal justice system to police investigations to criminal trial proceedings.Already there is a growing number of marijuana-related private businesses preparing to provide the consumer with a litany of home-grow aids and equipment should the California law pass - and eventually be adopted in other states. Snipped   Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/ZzKFXNSmSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Chip JohnsonPublished: Tuesday, October 12, 2010Copyright: 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ CannabisNews   -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on October 12, 2010 at 07:05:22 PT
Cannabis prohibition causes murder
FACT: Cannabis prohibition causes murder.RE-legalizing the God-given plant, will help eliminate murder related to black market realities.Murder rates decreased for 10 years after ending the original prohibiiton with alcohol and there's reason to believe ending the sequel will have the same results.RE-legalizing cannabis is one of the most important issues of Our time.
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