Supports Measure B

To the Editor:

I’m voting for Measure B, because I want our county to set a good example for our kids. Measure G tells our kids it is OK to violate state law, which I don’t think is the right example to set.

The subject matter of Measure G is not medical marijuana. Measure G tells our county district attorney and our county sheriff not to enforce the state laws that make it a crime to possess and grow marijuana for nonmedical purposes, as long as no more than 25 plants are involved. I don’t necessarily think it should be a crime to grow marijuana for personal, non-medical uses, but I don’t think I want to teach my children to obey only the laws they agree with.

I think that message is particularly damaging, when applied to drug use. If it is OK to ignore the state laws that make it a crime to use marijuana recreationaly, why isn’t it OK to ignore the state laws that make it a crime to use other illegal drugs, or the state laws that make it a crime to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke cigarettes, if you are under 18? I believe that the passage of Measure G undermined the moral authority of all parents in the county, particularly in connection with drug use.

The defenders of Measure G say that we should tax and regulate marijuana cultivation, giving the wine industry as an example. However, it is impossible to effectively tax and regulate something which is illegal under federal and state law. The wine industry didn’t develop as a viable industry until alcoholic beverages were legalized at the federal and state level. These advocates should direct their energies toward legalizing marijuana at the federal and state levels instead of turning Mendocino into an outlaw county.

Passing Measure B won’t instantly solve the problems associated with marijuana cultivation, but it will send a different, and in my opinion, a better message to our children and it will repeal a county ordinance which directs local law enforcement not to enforce state law.

David Rapport
Ukiah

Ukiah Daily Journal
SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2008 – A-13