Legalizing Cannabis Will Profit The Nation.

greenbuddha · March 19, 2012

Legalizing Marijuana Will Profit The NationPosted by CN Staff on March 18, 2012 at 03:35:52 PT

By David C. Kolbe

USA -- For many years there has been a “war on drugs” in this country.The phrase was itself a piece of propaganda authored by John Ehrlichman, President Richard Nixon’s assistant on domestic affairs. Integral to this “war” has been an extensive and expensive assault on a substantial portion of American society – people who use marijuana. Not only has it been wrong; it is a terrible failure.

My opinion, shared by a growing number of conservative, liberal and libertarian thinkers did not arise out of thin air.

I have dedicated more than 30 years of my life to the criminal justice system. I have served as county prosecutor and defended thousands of people within that time. I have worked with every part of the criminal justice system from beginning to end. I have seen the enforcement, prosecution and sentencing of those who smoke pot.

And my opinion is that criminalizing those who use pot is wrong and is a waste of time and money. Rather than branding our citizens, this state should legalize, regulate and tax pot.

There are two types of crimes in the criminal justice system. The first we call malum in se. This means the crime is rooted in evil. Nearly every society throughout history has considered these acts as crimes: rape, robbery, murder, to name of few.

The other types of crimes are called malum prohibitum. These are defined as crimes based upon social expectations or regulations and are often victimless. The person is not necessarily acting with evil intent. He or she is violating a regulation. This is just where pot fits in.

There are other reasons why pot should be legalized. One is purely economic. Under the current scheme, illegality means drug cartels make tons of money. It is simple macro-economics.

Another reason harkens back to our Bill of Rights. I contend the government has no business telling me what I can or cannot ingest on my own property or the private property of another. As long as my activity harms no one else, the government should keep its nose out of my business.

The truth is that quite a number of people within the system agree with what I have said here. They are simply reluctant to speak out because of their jobs.This is also true of a number of politicians too. We can all understand their reluctance.

However, I prefer to no longer keep silent. It is time to de-criminalize pot.

David C. Kolbe is a Warsaw attorney and was the Kosciusko County prosecutor from 1995 to 1998. He wrote this for Indiana newspapers.

Source: Journal Gazette, The (IN)

Author: David C. Kolbe

Published: March 18, 2012

Contact: letters@jg.net

Website: http://www.journalgazette.net/

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