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A Sober Look at Drug Policy
By Hempology | February 2, 2008
Kalamazoo Gazette, MI
31 Jan 2008
Lynn Turner
LOCAL PANEL DEBATES LEGALIZING POT
KALAMAZOO — The question repeatedly asked at a panel discussion on the current state of the country’s drug policy was, “Why not legalize marijuana and regulate it the same as alcohol and tobacco?”
The money it generates could be used for drug education and prevention programs as well as for treating addicts who want help for their substance-abuse problems, said two of the four panelists who debated the issue Wednesday night at Kalamazoo College.
The discussion, titled “A Sober Look at Drug Policy,” was sponsored by the college’s chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
“I’ve seen more drug destruction than anyone,” said Dan Bigg, director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance, which treats drug addicts. But he said marijuana use shouldn’t be demonized.
Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Fink and retired Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge William G. Schma who also took part in the discussion, offered opposing viewpoints.
“I don’t think we’ve done a good job in regulating the drugs we have now,” Fink said.
Schma, who helped create the Drug Treatment Court program in Kalamazoo County, agreed. He said working with addicts through the court system showed them the cost and devastation even legal drugs, such as alcohol, cost individuals and society.
Former Coast Guard interdiction agent turned marijuana legalization advocate Greg Francisco said he thinks more damage is done by law enforcement arresting people with small quantities of drugs for personal use than does the drug use.
“I think we can all agree drug abuse is harmful to society,” he said to a crowd of about 200 — mostly students — in the Dalton Theatre. “But drugs are here to stay.
“Most people report that it’s easier to buy illegal drugs than legal drugs. … The drug dealer just wants to see my money.”
All four agreed that the “War on Drugs,” declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon, has been a bust or at least misnamed. Drugs are now cheaper, purer and more prevalent than before, Francisco said. And the cost has risen to almost $20 billion a year in this country.
K-College freshman J.J. Weber said he thinks drugs should be legalized if that is the will of the American people.
“I could see marijuana ( being legalized ) before heroin or the heavier drugs,” he said.
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