Saturday, July 24, 2010

Dane County Marijuana Reeferendum

Like most people in Wisconsin, I believe that people who want to use marijuana for medicinal purposes should be allowed to do so.

Dane County will put the question to the voters in the fall on an advisory referendum (or reeferendum). Dane County supervisors unanimously supported the referendum (that's right all 37 of 'em), and officials expect the about 70 percent on county voters to support the measure.

Now it would be nice if the referendum actually had some teeth, but I guess it's a baby step in the process to give people access to the medicine they want.

I understand that in many states where medical marijuana is legal, the system has been abused. I've heard stories from places like California and Colorado where unscrupulous doctors will give anybody and their dog a prescription for marijuana, provided the patients pays a hefty fee. Some doctors will see hundreds of patients a day.

But at the same time the only thing particularly dangerous about marijuana is that it is illegal. I find stoners and potheads really annoying, but I'd feel safer with a stoner driving in the car next to me on the freeway than with a drunk.

And even though I wouldn't touch the stuff if it were legal, I'm excited that California is looking into legalizing and taxing pot. Advocates think the state will save money on police enforcement, earn money from taxes on pot, and shut down a portion of the black market for drugs that funds the murderous cartels in Mexico.

And I'm inclined to agree.