Oakland city attorney: Legalize it!
By HPRC Delivers | May 18, 2010
Great editorial at Inside Bay Area (link) by Oakland City Attorney John Russo today about why we should end the prohibition against marijuana:
Like prohibition of alcohol in the last century, marijuana prohibition has empowered vast and violent criminal enterprises. The drug cartels that threaten the peace on our streets and weaken national security on our border get more than 60 percent of their revenue from marijuana sales in the U.S., according to federal authorities.
Money is the oxygen of these organizations. Our approach to fighting drug gangs has been like trying to put out a house fire with a watering can. Why not try shutting off the fire’s main oxygen supply?
The financial and human costs of enforcing prohibition are enormous. While we criminalize thousands of Californians for low-level marijuana offenses, police departments lack resources to solve and stop major crimes. More than 61,000 people were arrested in California for misdemeanor marijuana possession in 2008. That same year, about 60,000 violent crimes went unsolved statewide.
And just imagine what would be able to do with the estimated $1.4 billion in tax revenue from legal marijuana sales in this state.
It’s amazing that some local cities, such as Hayward, prefer to be regressive on the matter, but I guess you gotta do what your donors pay you to do, isn’t that right, Kevin Dowling? (For those who haven’t been following along, as a Hayward city council member, Dowling was in support of medical marijuana until he decided that being against it would further his career. Small wonder our votes for Alameda County Supervisor are going to Nadia Lockyer.)
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