Decriminalization

An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will appear on the November ballot, state election officials announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the nation's debate over whether to soften drug laws. The number of valid signatures reported by Los Angeles County, submitted minutes before Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline, put the measure well beyond the 433,971 it needed to be certified.

CARTAGENA, Colombia - President Obama will highlight trade and business opportunities in Latin America at a regional summit in Colombia this weekend, but other leaders may upstage him by pushing to legalize marijuana and other illicit drugs in a bid to stem rampant trafficking. Obama, who opposes decriminalization, is expected to face a rocky reception in this Caribbean resort city, which otherwise forms a friendly backdrop for a U.S. president courting Latino voters in an election year.

The American Medical Assn. on Tuesday urged the federal government to reconsider its classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use, a significant shift that puts the prestigious group behind calls for more research. The nation's largest physicians organization, with about 250,000 member doctors, the AMA has maintained since 1997 that marijuana should remain a Schedule I controlled substance, the most restrictive category, which also includes heroin and LSD. In changing its policy, the group said its goal was to clear the way to conduct clinical research, develop cannabis-based medicines and devise alternative ways to deliver the drug.

A conclave of Central American presidents meeting in Guatemala to discuss a major overhaul of their drug laws — including legalization or decriminalization — failed to arrive at a consensus Saturday and agreed to meet again soon in Honduras. Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina had invited five counterparts to discuss what he described as growing frustration with Washington's anti-drug policy, which many in the region say is exacting too high a price in crime and corruption.

CARTAGENA, Colombia - President Obama will highlight trade and business opportunities in Latin America at a regional summit in Colombia this weekend, but other leaders may upstage him by pushing to legalize marijuana and other illicit drugs in a bid to stem rampant trafficking. Obama, who opposes decriminalization, is expected to face a rocky reception in this Caribbean resort city, which otherwise forms a friendly backdrop for a U.S. president courting Latino voters in an election year.

Could Mexican cities become Latin Amsterdams, flooded by drug users seeking penalty-free tokes and toots? That is the fear, if somewhat overstated, of some Mexican officials, especially in northern border states that serve as a mecca for underage drinkers from the United States. The anxiety stems from the Mexican legislature's quiet vote to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs, an effort that in the past proved controversial.

As a criminal lawyer with over 20 years of experience dealing with the fallout from the illegal use of drugs, I found Jerome Skolnick's article on decriminalization of drugs (Op-Ed Page, June 22) both thoughtful and timely. His point that decriminalization must take place within a larger sphere of social activism is certainly well taken, but I doubt whether his list of recommendations goes far enough. I think that in order to have an impact on drug usage in this country, it will still be necessary to make the use of drugs illegal.

With a mini-blizzard of phone calls and faxed press releases, the issue of decriminalizing marijuana was injected Monday into the race between Republican Assemblywoman Cathie Wright of Simi Valley and her GOP challenger, Hunt Braly. And when the smoke had cleared, Braly was denying that he supports decriminalization, Wright's camp was denying that she planted the allegation and a conservative GOP activist was carefully adding up all the media outlets he'd alerted to the whole imbroglio.

In a move toward what one councilman called the "decriminalization of skateboarding in Laguna Beach," the City Council has given preliminary approval to an ordinance that would allow skateboarding on some city sidewalks. Currently, skateboarders can legally enjoy their sport only on city streets, an option some believe is unsafe. "Staff recognizes that, much like the surfboarding and bodysurfing conflicts of years ago . . .

" In relation to society and government . . . new ideas are rare ." -- Henry Cabot Lodge The first thing you noticed was that it wasn't a hippie crowd. There looked to be at least a couple hundred people, and by my unofficial eyeballing most were middle-aged or beyond. Radicals? Hardly. There were too many Oldsmobiles in the parking lot. Dangerous godless subversives out to undermine the government? I don't think godless subversives meet Tuesday nights at the Crystal Cathedral, the Rev.

Heroin shooters, speed users, pot smokers and even some men and women who now are drug-free convene regularly in this city's gritty Tenderloin district — not for treatment, but to discuss public health policy and share their experiences free from shame or blame. On this particular evening, the dozen or so in attendance had some pressing questions, including how those heading to a users' conference in Oregon this fall would obtain their methadone or safely procure other drugs to use in a supervised injection room.

City Councilman Jose Huizar is asking his colleagues to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. It's a great idea. Or rather, it would have been a great idea three or four years ago — before the city purported to regulate the storefront cannabis-selling shops. The idea would not be to ban dispensaries forever but to track court rulings, determine what regulations are and are not allowable, and then construct a smart and enforceable ordinance. But it's too late for that now. L.A. city government took its seat on a legal roller coaster when it first signaled that it couldn't or wouldn't block dispensaries from opening, then stayed for a second ride when it adopted and tried to enforce ordinances regulating where and when purveyors could operate.

As campaign stops for Republican presidential candidates go, the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in downtown Los Angeles seemed like a strange choice. There was reggae music booming from big speakers, lapel pins shaped like marijuana leaves and a speech by California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the liberal former mayor of San Francisco who is famous for granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And yet there Gary Johnson stood this month, drawing cheers from a crowd of drug decriminalization activists.

The International Drug Policy Reform Conference in downtown Los Angeles might not seem like a sensible campaign stop for a Republican presidential hopeful. There was reggae music blasting, little lapel pins shaped like marijuana leaves, and a speech by California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the uber-liberal former mayor of San Francisco who is famous for granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But on Thursday, Gary Johnson stood there before an audience of drug decriminalization activists, drawing cheers for his promise that if he wins the Republican nomination and is elected president, he will issue a full pardon for anyone serving prison time for a non-violent marijuana crime.

They looked like spooky, glow-in-the-dark Gumby figures. Hundreds of migrants from eight countries packed cheek to jowl in the back of two cargo trucks, stretching and contorting to find space and air. Their images were captured by an X-ray scanner inspecting vehicles in southern Mexico. The discovery on May 17 — the largest single interception of smuggled foreign nationals — once again turned up the pressure on Mexico to safeguard migrants who cross the country on their way to the United States, a journey that has become dangerous and costly.

People have been getting high on marijuana for thousands of years. Yet every new generation seems to think it invented the drug. Actually, mine did. Beatnik Eric (Big Daddy) Nord, "The King of North Beach," introduced me to weed on a tour of San Francisco jazz spots and coffeehouses when I was a San Jose State Spartan Daily reporter a half-century ago. Through the 1960s and into the '70s, a bunch of us would occasionally toke up "recreationally," often griping about the Vietnam War or "Tricky Dick" Nixon.

The campaign to legalize marijuana in California kicked off this week, just days after the initiative made the ballot, with a radio ad saying many law enforcement professionals know marijuana laws have failed and calling the measure "a common sense solution." The ad features Jeffrey Studdard, a former school district police officer and reserve L.A. County sheriff's deputy. Studdard says that he has "seen firsthand that the current approach on cannabis is simply not working," explaining that the fight against marijuana has led to "violent drug cartels" and "dealers in our schools and our streets" without reducing consumption.

An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will appear on the November ballot, state election officials announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the nation's debate over whether to soften drug laws. The number of valid signatures reported by Los Angeles County, submitted minutes before Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline, put the measure well beyond the 433,971 it needed to be certified.