http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/13/george-soros-marijuana-legalization-opinions-contributors-rachel-ehrenfeld.html

Commentary  FORBES  (prohibitionist right-wing rag for richies]
ObamaCare's Medical Marijuana
Rachel Ehrenfeld, 08.13.09, 04:00 PM EDT
George Soros wants legalization, but at what cost to our nation?

[better ask first what cost to the nation prohibition has caused -ths]]

George Soros must be thrilled. Two hundred days into the Obama administration,
and 16 years after Soros began his advocacy for drug legalization and promoting
"medical marijuana," the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is venturing into
the distribution and production of marijuana cigarettes. According to the Aug. 5
solicitation for proposals, the selected organizations will be controlled by the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), and will have to comply with FDA regulations.

Until the early 1990s, the voices to legalize drugs in the United States were not in
sync. This changed with Soros' first foray into U.S. domestic politics in 1992-1993.
Soros declared: "The war on drugs is doing more harm to our society than drug
abuse itself," and proceeded with his checkbook advocacy through his Open Society
Institute (OSI) to give some $15 million to establish and fund several pro-drug
legalization organizations. Since then, he and his like-minded friends poured many
millions into different programs aimed at drug-legalization.

On Feb. 7, 1996, I observed in The Wall Street Journal that Soros' "sponsorship
unified the movement to legalize drugs and gave it the respectability and credibility it
lacked." I then opined that unchallenged, Soros would change the political landscape
in America. But patiently, Soros has achieved what he set out to get.

Soros, whose motto is, "If I spend enough, I make it right," uses his donations and
philanthropy to change--or more accurately deconstruct--the moral values and
attitudes of the Western world, and particularly of the American people. While others
give to the arts and higher education or to better the quality of the lives of their
fellow men, Soros has been funding campaigns for drug legalization, and "medical
marijuana," which is described as a "compassionate drug."

Soros and the other proponents of medical marijuana and drug legalization claim that
the price of government-provided "legal" drugs would significantly lower their current
price, removing the necessity to commit crimes in order to secure the drugs.

But how much would governmental administration add to the cost? And what will
happen when the "tax" is added on? When the government outsources the
production and distribution, would pharmaceutical and new marijuana-cigarette
producers be asked to give up their profits? How much would it cost to investigate
the black market that will flourish supplying groups prohibited by law from receiving
drugs--adolescents, airline pilots, police officers, etc.? This new industry could create
jobs. But are there going to be enough sober workers to perform them?

Reader Comments

Ms. Ehrenfeld, it seems that you are the on who suffers from "distorted perceptions,
impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with
learning and memory." I don't....

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NIDA's solicitation for marijuana growth for research is nothing new. Marijuana
studies have been conducted over decades, and thousands of them document the
adverse effects of this controlled (illegal?--its not controlled yet) substance.

Yet, now, for the first time, the government is soliciting organizations that can grow
marijuana on a "large scale," with the capability to "prepare marijuana cigarettes and
related products ... distribute marijuana, marijuana cigarettes and cannabinoids, and
other related products" not only for research, but also for "other government
programs."

Since when is the U.S. government in the business of distributing marijuana
cigarettes? Is this part of the health care programs the Obama administration is so
keen to enforce?

Since Obama took office, "medical marijuana" dispensary owners in some of the 15
states where it's legal, or tolerated, report requests "climbed sky high." Medical
Marijuana, Inc. ( MJNA.PK - news - people ), an Oregon-based company, which has
been traded on the Nasdaq since April of 2009, offers solutions for this emerging
industry. Its Web site claims that "the number of ailing people turning to medical
marijuana to ease their symptoms has spiked in 2009. Requests have jumped
anywhere from 50% to 300%."

In California, where medical marijuana is already legal, a massive campaign is
underway to legalize all uses of the drug. Soros and other pro-drug legalization
organizations claim that tax revenues from marijuana sales would fill the empty
coffers of the state with at least $1.4 billion for the first year. The more users, the
more money for the state.

A revenue collection system is already in place to ensure the tax revenues for the
states that allow "medical marijuana." The system, developed by Medical Marijuana,
Inc., boasts, "The Stored Value Platform System, a point-of-sale system, is a hallmark
element of Medical Marijuana's business solutions package." The company has
already signed on many marijuana collectives, and lobbies heavily to sign on the City
of Oakland, Calif., which is the first city in the nation that voted in favor of collecting
tax proceeds from marijuana sale, "as part of the solution to Oakland's longstanding
budget shortfall."

California's current attorney general is former Mayor Jerry Brown, who now runs for
governor. While he was governor of California from 1975 to 1983, Brown lowered the
fines on marijuana possession. Yet, now he says, "If the whole society starts getting
stoned, we're going to be even less competitive."

As for the harm caused by using marijuana, NIDA reports: "marijuana smoke
contains 50% to 70% more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke ...
which further increases the lungs' exposure to carcinogenic smoke." Moreover,
"marijuana users have a 4.8-fold increase in the risk of heart attack in the first hour
after smoking the drug ...This risk may be greater in aging populations or those with
cardiac vulnerabilities."

In addition, marijuana use causes "distorted perceptions, impaired coordination,
difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory,"
lasting weeks after the initial use. "As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every
day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time."

If the government legitimizes marijuana use and develops a new marijuana cigarettes
industry, Soros will no doubt boast that he had a part in this feat.

The evidence about the harm caused by marijuana to the individual user and society
is overwhelming. Yet the government is now moving for large production and
distribution of marijuana. If this is part of the ObamaCare project, it would surely
cause the opposite of what it is purporting to do.

Rachel Ehrenfeld, author of Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to
Stop It, is director of the American Center for Democracy.