Reefer Madness: San Bernadino County gets kudos for seeing through the smoke
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 9:00 am | By: Radical Russ
S.B. County gets kudos for seeing through the smoke – San Bernardino County Sun
The Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition supports San Bernardino County’s decision to ask the state Supreme Court to intervene on State Attorney General Brown’s demands that people be allowed to smoke pot. San Bernardino County was not fooled by a small group of pro-pot users who marched in mid-August demanding the county issue pot ID cards. The failed protest attempt by pro-drug legalizers is reminiscent of a drug culture craze a generation ago. Those days are long gone and so is the perceived innocence of marijuana. Thankfully, the leaders of San Bernardino County saw through their smoke.
The state of California legalized medical marijuana by a 55% vote. The state ordered all California counties to begin voluntary ID card systems. Two courts have now told San Bernadino and San Diego counties that they need to begin the card system. So don’t puff yourself up by claiming it is just a “small group of pro-pot users” that San Bernadino is rejecting – it’s the rule of law San Bernadino is rejecting.
However, in Riverside County, where the Board of Supervisors approved medical marijuana ID cards, more than 1,000 ID cards have been issued. Yes, nearly 1,000 – and at taxpayer expense. This angers citizens, especially in tough economic times when funds should be diverted to legitimate services for the community. The fact that taxpayer dollars are being used to pay county employees to issue these cards is beyond absurd. Nonetheless, a small radical group of drug legalizers got their way. Riverside County made a mistake and we are confident they will learn from this failure and join San Bernardino and San Diego counties in the courts to fight back against the failures of Proposition 215.
So, it’s reprehensible to have county funds diverted from “legitimate services”, as if caring for sick and disabled Californians and obeying the mandates of the state aren’t “legitimate”, but it’s perfectly OK to divert five times as much funds to continually take this case back to appeals court after appeals court for loss after loss.
Marijuana use brings harm to our children and our communities. …. Our hearts go out to anyone suffering from an illness; however, in the case of marijuana, we have seen time and again how the drug legalization movement hides behind the sick for their own selfish cause.
Funny how I never hear any of these sick people helped by medical marijuana demanding an end to medical marijuana laws because healthy people are getting high. The sick and disabled people don’t seem to feel like they’ve been “used” or “hidden behind”. These anti-drug advocates seem to be saying, sure, marijuana might help the cancer patient, but because a healthy person claims “insomnia” to get legally high, the cancer patient should have to suffer.
Many Californians know of someone who has ruined their life with marijuana use. … Most Californians know somebody whose life was destroyed by substance abuse – enough is enough. Our communities have sufficient problems with drunken drivers, meth addicts and prescription-drug abusers. We don’t need an outcast of legalizers harming the next generation.
News for you: the next generation is already smoking weed. Everyone who wants to smoke pot is. Except now, in California, many of those pot smokers are contributing to your state’s general fund instead of a teenage pot dealer’s PlayStation fund. Many of those pot smokers are purchasing pot in a safe, taxed retail environment instead of risking arrest and violence in a black market environment.
Does anyone really think legalized marijuana is going to lead to a huge increase in pot users? Is the writer only holding back on smoking pot because it is illegal? No! Were it legal, he’d still not smoke it, nor would the majority who don’t smoke now. Maybe a few timid experimenters would try it once it is free of legal consequences, but they will be matched by the ones who won’t get a hold of it because dealers will dry up and the retailers will check IDs. All legalizing marijuana will do is shift the economy of pot from black market to legit.
Furthermore, with the choice of legal weed, maybe some of those drunks, tweekers, and pill poppers will switch to marijuana and cause far less harm to society.
Topics: California, San Bernardino
