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US: Editorial: Democrats' Pot Plan
Seattle Times (US) Friday 16 Jun 2000 Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 Source: Seattle Times (WA) DEMOCRATS' POT PLAN Delegates to the state Democratic Party convention must be dipping into the funny stuff. How else to explain a resolution favoring legalization and sale of marijuana through cafes, bars and liquor stores? This dumb idea sends the wrong message. Parents do their best to keep kids away from drugs of all kinds. Then along comes the wacky wing of the Democratic Party with a conflicting message. A party chairman walks a delicate line at a convention, trying to manage fringe elements and inspire passionate party members to work hard on behalf of candidates. Party Chairman Paul Berendt suspended good judgment in pursuit of an issue that might appeal to a certain segment of party members. The platform adopted last week favors decriminalizing marijuana. A convention resolution, passed by a narrow margin, calls for legalization of pot sales to people over age 21 through cafes, bars and liquor stores. State voters in 1998 approved a medical marijuana initiative that makes sense because the pot is used for specific medical needs. It doesn't then turn up at the corner coffee shop. If Democrats were worried about inordinately long sentences for nonviolent drug offenders - hundreds of thousands of them fill prisons at a considerable cost to taxpayers - the party should have made that clear. That is a legitimate policy debate. But legalization is the wrong statement from a party that has worked hard to prove it is more centrist than in years past. Apparently fearful that the party will have a difficult time energizing supporters for fall elections, Berendt let the passions of the liberal wing fly - over the edge. It is bad politics to send signals that confuse young people and alienate moderate, sensible suburban voters.
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