excerpt- Nebraska and Oklahoma were awash with marijuana before Colorado and three other states legalized marijuana. And marijuana will be widely available in their states regardless of what policies Colorado and other states set. The debate over marijuana legalization is not about whether people should use or sell marijuana, millions already are. The debate is about who should control the marijuana trade – drug cartels or regulated business owners – and where should the proceeds from marijuana sales go – to organized crime bosses or government coffers, for machine guns and hit men or education and treatment. Colorado has chosen to take marijuana off the streets and control it through a regulated system where young people do not have access. Nebraska and Oklahoma have chosen to let criminal organizations decides where marijuana is sold and who it is sold to. One of Nebraska’s complaints is that they are forced to spend law enforcement resources dealing with marijuana, but they would be doing that regardless of what kind of marijuana policy Colorado set. As long as there is a demand for marijuana in Nebraska, there will be a supply. And of course, Nebraska does not have to waste law enforcement resources on marijuana. Colorado voters adopted marijuana legalization in part because they wanted to stop wasting law enforcement resources filling jails and prisons with nonviolent offenders. Nebraska could make money instead of wasting money if it followed Colorados lead. Legalization and regulation bring control. Colorado has 500 pages of marijuana law and regulations that include mandatory state and local licensing, background checks, financial disclosures, video surveillance, alarm systems, seed-to-sale tracking, RFID tags, child-resistant packaging, labeling, and testing.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 23:38:30 +0000
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