The legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington and President Barack Obama’s recent remarks again headline the marijuana issue.
In spite of the widespread effort to normalize it, Montana knows firsthand the societal problems marijuana can cause. Colorado and Washington are headed for big problems.
Obama, a former pot smoker himself, recently stated that smoking marijuana was no worse than drinking and his soft approach to enforcing federal law all but endorses the use of it. There seems to be a new — if you like your joint, you can keep it — policy in America. In effect, he has undone years of “zero tolerance” and the “drug free” crusade in our schools and communities.
The legalizers agree that marijuana is dangerous for adolescents and argue that it will still be illegal for them. But it’s those under the age of 21 the industry targets. They are the primary users, consuming the majority of illegal drugs and suffering the most from its long-term consequences. As it becomes more socially accepted, usage increases. That was the case in Montana.
By 2011, Montana had the sixth-highest rate of youth marijuana use in the country and the fourth-highest rate of youth addiction.
After U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that those in compliance with their state’s medical marijuana laws would not be prosecuted, the industry in Montana exploded and became a billion-dollar operation. Montana’s chief of the narcotics bureau, Mark Long, testified, “The current situation is a public health and safety disaster as well as a law enforcement nightmare … and an embarrassment to Montana on a national level.” He said Montana was growing so much marijuana it had become a “source country” for illegal export of the drug. Organized crime moved in and one of the world’s largest outlaw motorcycle gangs was involved in running drugs to their East Coast counterparts. Our surrounding states did not consider us good neighbors as can be anticipated by the neighbors of Colorado and Washington.
As a legislator I was inundated with complaints from cities, towns, communities, law enforcement officials, treatment centers and schools about disruption, safety, crime, dropout rates, students stoned and apathetic toward school and life in general. This new enterprise was making drugs so familiar and acceptable that it was changing Montana’s culture.
I heard of growers destroying neighborhoods, reducing the values of homes and of the language, harassment and stench of crowds at the dispensaries. Parents complained that kids could not play in their own yards. Multiple dispensaries set up near schools, targeting our youth.
Students wrote asking who was defending their rights to a safe, drug-free school. They wanted their friends back. Major industries in Montana reported the inability to find job applicants who didn’t test positive for drugs.
The 2011 Montana Legislature reined in the exploding marijuana industry. They passed the repeal of the medical marijuana initiative, which the governor vetoed in a showy display with a branding iron on the front steps of the capitol. Subsequent legislation took out the profit, curbing commercial growing. Those who had moved to Montana to capitalize on the cannabis industry moved on and those who railed against us for ruining cannabis tourism went elsewhere.
The arguments behind legalization are similar to those used to promote “medical marijuana.”
The illogical deluge of propaganda leaves one to wonder if we are not only losing the war on drugs, but the war on common sense as well.
Source: www.greatfallstribune.com 2nd March
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MONTANA SOAP BOX: MARIJUANA CAUSES BIG PROBLEMS
The legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington and President Barack Obama’s recent remarks again headline the marijuana issue.
In spite of the widespread effort to normalize it, Montana knows first hand the societal problems marijuana can cause. Colorado and Washington are headed for big problems.
Obama, a former pot smoker himself, recently stated that smoking marijuana was no worse than drinking and his soft approach to enforcing federal law all but endorses the use of it. There seems to be a new — if you like your joint, you can keep it — policy in America. In effect, he has undone years of “zero tolerance” and the “drug free” crusade in our schools and communities.
The legalizers agree that marijuana is dangerous for adolescents and argue that it will still be illegal for them. But it’s those under the age of 21 the industry targets. They are the primary users, consuming the majority of illegal drugs and suffering the most from its long-term consequences. As it becomes more socially accepted, usage increases. That was the case in Montana.
By 2011, Montana had the sixth-highest rate of youth marijuana use in the country and the fourth-highest rate of youth addiction.
After U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that those in compliance with their state’s medical marijuana laws would not be prosecuted, the industry in Montana exploded and became a billion-dollar operation. Montana’s chief of the narcotics bureau, Mark Long, testified, “The current situation is a public health and safety disaster as well as a law enforcement nightmare … and an embarrassment to Montana on a national level.” He said Montana was growing so much marijuana it had become a “source country” for illegal export of the drug. Organized crime moved in and one of the world’s largest outlaw motorcycle gangs was involved in running drugs to their East Coast counterparts. Our surrounding states did not consider us good neighbors as can be anticipated by the neighbors of Colorado and Washington.
Source: www.greatfallstribune 3rd March 2014