College paper almost makes the grade with editorial From today's Daily Iowan editorial on Chicago's decrim plan:
...there are numerous reasons to support the reform, not just in Chicago but on a national level. One concerns where society places its priorities in fighting crime. Given the choice between spending valuable resources to apprehend murderers and sexual predators versus jailing nonviolent pot users, the choice is a no-brainer. Handcuffing people caught smoking joints and sending them to the county jail is hardly rational when many such places already face severe problems with overcrowding (think Johnson County, Iowa).
Good enough so far, but then there's this:
There is no doubt whether the use of marijuana is injurious to health and should be penalized in some form.
No doubt? How about some data to prove that assertion.
Its surreptitious and illicit distribution is even more problematic.
Decrim will not to address this "more problematic" situation at all.
It's great to see the debate taking place, but let's try to get our facts straight. I suspect we will see more lukewarm supporters attempting to make marijuana sound worse than it really is just to prove they aren't in the same camp as the "legalizers."
I'll give the editorialist who wrote this a B-.
9:15:21 AM | permalink |
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