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Published:
Oakland Tribune Op-Eds, Jun 9, 2004
By Rebecca Kaplan
Oakland
Initiative Seeks End to War on Pot
In a powerful victory recently, the ACLU, the
Drug Policy Alliance and other groups
defeated the Bush administration in
federal court. Our freedom of speech and
our right to tell the truth were at stake
-- in the face of a federal law that
banned, from certain public areas,
advertisements that question any aspect of
the federal policy of prohibition of
marijuana. The law that was struck down
had even banned paid ads on public transit
facilities regarding the legalization of
medical cannabis.
In other words,
even though the voters of California
legalized cannabis for medical use in
1996, the federal government would prevent
information about it from reaching the
public.
Thanks to the
advocates, we have won the right to tell
the truth. Now, we must make sure to take
full advantage of our freedoms while we
have them.
Since Richard
Nixon launched his "war on marijuana,"
hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars
have been spent to prosecute and imprison
non-violent people, primarily young people
of color, while our schools, libraries,
and public health facilities suffer for
lack of funding.
Attorney General
John Ashcroft has said that he considers
the medical use of marijuana to be the
same as non-medical use, even if the
voters of a state explicitly pass a law
legalizing medical use -- and he insists
on treating marijuana more strictly than
cocaine.
The federal
government has ignored its own findings,
including those from the marijuana study
commissioned by Richard Nixon, that: "Most
users, young and old, demonstrate an
average or above-average degree of social
functioning, academic achievement, and job
performance. ... marijuana does not cause
violent or aggressive behavior; if
anything marijuana serves to inhibit the
expression of such behavior. ... Neither
the marijuana user nor the drug itself can
be said to constitute a danger to public
safety" (The Shafer Commission Report,
1972).
When the public
questions the wisdom of the expensive
policy of prohibition and imprisonment,
the government tries to ban speech.
Once again, the
administration is trying to continue an
expensive and wasteful war even in the
face of mounting evidence that this war
destroys lives and is also a miserable
failure.
There is a better
way. We don't need to put up with the
endless violations of our civil rights,
civil liberties, financial health and
human dignity that the war on cannabis has
become.
The Oakland
Cannabis Initiative seeks to promote a
more sensible, less war-oriented policy
toward cannabis while advancing the
national debate. The initiative calls for
policies that tax and regulate cannabis
for adults to keep it off the streets,
away from kids, and to raise funds for
vital local services.
To learn more or
to get involved, please visit
www.taxandregulate.org or call the Oakland
Cannabis Initiative.
Rebecca Kaplan,
an Oakland activist and community
organizer, holds a law degree from
Stanford University, where she studied
constitutional law issues.
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