Pubdate: Thu, 19 Oct 2000
Date: 10/19/2000
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Author: C. Carl Bostek

Proposition 5 legalizes marijuana. Many medical and law enforcement
experts favor decriminalization; many do not. Not surprising in an
area so emotionally charged and replete with contradictory evidence
concerning the alleged adverse or beneficial effects of marijuana.

Proposition 5 will regulate marijuana like alcohol. Its sale could be
taxed and the proceeds could help end our budget woes. It provides for
public safety concerns. But it also grants amnesty for some and
considers restitution for them. Restitution for people who chose to
break the law? Really ... but I understand that the Legislature could
remove that stipulation.

Prohibition didn't work for alcohol and it's not working for
marijuana. Growers and traffickers get rich. But traffickers may kill
to protect their business and "recreational" users may have their
lives destroyed.

And what about kids? The Netherlands is very permissive toward drug
usage, but in 1997 the incidence of marijuana use there among 12- to
18-year-olds was 11 percent in a one-month period compared to 18
percent in the U.S. Perhaps the forbidden fruit is more alluring.

A free society must allow its citizens the freedom to make their own
choices, even when self-destructive. But I fear for our future when
self-indulgence and self-gratification become our most important
priorities. Considering the billions we spend on illegal drugs, I'm
afraid they already are.

C. Carl Bostek,
Eagle River