Dear Editor:
Here’s what KCBA’s proposed marijuana resolution is: a dumb idea whose time should never have come. KCBA should not take a position on this issue — it is an issue for lawmakers. Taking an “official” position that marijuana should be “legal” will cause many to question our credibility.
Though the entire edition of the KCBA November 2007 newspaper only offered articles and arguments in support of the resolution, one anonymous contrary view posted on KCBA’s webpage (http://www.kcba.org/scriptcontent/KCBA/druglaw/comments.cfm#submit) said:
If the King County Bar Association passes the resolution may I please have the balance of my Bar Dues reimbursed to me pro rata for the remainder of the year? I do not as an attorney wish to be associated with any organization passing a resolution which will be used by zealous advocates to promote the use of illegal drugs by members of society. The personal perceptions of the harmfulness of a specific drug is not the issue. The issue is the resulting perception by the public of attorneys who support such a stance. We have enough PR problems as attorneys without the additional perception of the public that we are all a bunch of pro-stoners. Wasting time on this subject brings discredit to the KCBA and the more important issues it should address. While I’m not unsympathetic to the objectives expressed, it’s simply not appropriate for the Bar Association. It undercuts the Bar’s credibility on legitimate issues. It’s akin to the city council wasting time debating circus animals, or voting to end the war in Iraq. Stay on point.
Well said.
Since KCBA is in the resolution business, presumably it has fair rules and a fair process its members approved and officially adopted long before this proposed resolution arose. And when KCBA went through that process and followed those rules, presumably it carefully scrutinized the data it now cites as support for the proposed resolution. But was some misleading or incorrect data possibly overlooked?
For example, when one article complained about the volume of prisoners incarcerated purportedly just for marijuana offenses, how many were actually serving sentences concurrently for other crimes? And how many were selling or possessing significant amounts of the drug? Another bit of data claimed that “in 2005, nearly 800,000 people were arrested on marijuana charges in the United States — one every 40 seconds — and 88% of those arrests were for possession only.” So, does KCBA seriously think (and seriously want us to think) that casual pot users holding joints are grabbed off the streets, branded criminals, and thrown into prison every 40 seconds?
How about this for a resolution: KCBA should abstain from resolutions.
n
–Alan Michael Singer
The Bar Bulletin welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should generally be no more than 350 words and must include the author’s name, address, and daytime phone number for verification purposes. They should be sent to Gene Barton, Editor, c/o Karr Tuttle Campbell, 1201 3rd Ave. Ste 2900, Seattle, WA 98101-3284; or e-mail gbarton@karrtuttle.com. The Bar Bulletin has the right to edit all letters without notice to the author and the right to refuse to publish any letter. The views expressed in letters to the editor represent the view only of the writer and not the views of the Bar Bulletin, the King County Bar Association, its officers or trustees.
