Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2004)
Commentary Oregon Daily Emerald Monday, October 25, 2004 NEWS STAFF (541)346-5511 IEN SUDICK EDITOR IN CHIEF STEVEN R. NEUMAN MANAGING EDITOR IARED PABEN AYISHA YAHYA NEWS EDITORS PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTER MORIAH BAUNCIT MEGHANN CUNIFF KARA HANSEN ANTHONY LUCERO CANEIA WOOD NEWS REPORTERS CLAYTON (ONES SPORTS EDITOR ION ROETMAN SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER STEPHEN MILLER BRIAN SMITH SPORTS REPORTERS RYAN NYBURC PULSE EDITOR NATASHA CHILINCERIAN SENIOR PULSE REPORTER DAHV1 FISCHER AMY LICHTY RYAN MURPHY PULSE REPORTERS DAVID JACERNAUTH EDITORIAL EDITOR JENNIFER MCBRIDE AILEE SLATER CHUCK SLOTHOWER TRAVIS WILLSE COLUMNISTS ASHLEY GRIFFIN SUPPLEMENT FREELANCE EDITOR GABEBRADLEY NEWS FREELANCE EDITOR/ DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT DANIELLE HICKEY PHOTO EDITOR i AUREN W1MER SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER ITM BOBOSKY PHOTOGRAPHER NICOLE BARKER PARI TIME PHOTOGRAPHER ERIK BISHOFF PAR! TIME PHOTOGRAPHER BRET FURTWANCLER GRAPHICS EDITOR KIRA PARK DESIGN EDITOR ELLIOTT ASBURY CHARLIE CALDWELL DUSTIN REESE DESIGNERS SHADRA BEES LEY JEANNIE EVERS COPY CHIEFS KIMBERLY BLACKFIELD PAULTHOMPSON SPORTS COPY EDITORS AMANDA EVRARD AMBER LINDROS NEWS COPY EDITORS LINDSAY BURT PULSE COPY EDITOR ADRIENNE NELSON ONLINE EDITOR SLADE LEESON WEBMASTER BUSINESS (541)346-5511 JUDY R1EDL GENERAL MANAGER KATHY CARBONE BUSINESS MANAGER REBECCA CRITCHErT RECEPTIONIST NATHAN FOSTER A1BING GUO ANDREW LEAHY JOHN LONG MALLORY MAHONEY HOLLY MISTELL DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING (541)346-3712 MELISSA GUST ADVERTISING DIRECTOR TYLER MACK SALES MANAGER ALEX AMES MATT BETZ HERON CALISCH-DOLEN MEGAN HAMLIN ELISA JESSOP MAEGAN KASER LEE MIA LEIDELMEYER EMILY PHILBIN SHANNON ROGERS SALES REPRESENTATIVES KELLEE KAUFTHEIL AD ASSISTANT CLASSIFIED (541) 3464343 TRINA SHANAMAN CLASSIFIED MANAGER KATY GAGNON SABRINA GOWETTE LESUE STRAIGHT KERI SPANGLER KATIE STRINGER CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ASSOCIATES PRODUCTION (541) 3464381 MICHELE ROSS PRODUCTION MANAGER TARA SLOAN PRODUCTION COORDINATOR JEN CRAM LET KRISTEN DICHARRY CAMERON GAUT ANDY HOLLAND DESIGNERS The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub lished daily Monday through Fri day during the school year by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Ore gon, Eugene, Ore. The Emerald operates independently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. Unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law fOkt\/ang>le^ “ 'DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI LIST?' LADY, THAT'S JUST THE STUDENTS THAT WAS ABLE TO FIND JOBS AFTER GRADUATING.” Bret Furtwancler | Graphic designer ■ In my opinion Columnists weigh in on Measure33 TYavis Willse — NO Marijuana should be legalized. Alcohol is certainly a more damag ing drug socially: It's a factor in about 40 percent of violent crimes. There's much less reason, by contrast, to impose prior restraint on marijuana users, but marijuana prohibition costs the nation $7 bil lion annually, and . more than 130,000 people are in prison for felony marijuana offenses. Marijua na legalization is good news for taxpayers, law enforcement officials, civil libertarians and, ostensibly, medical patients. That said, Measure 33 is simply the wrong way to reform Oregon’s drug policy: It re quires residents to register with the state to receive special benefits (the government approves prescrip tion drugs but generally does not in terfere in the prescription process). Worse, those rights would be applied unequally. Moreover, the ballot measure forces the govern ment between the health care pro fessional and the patient. This proposition is unwarranted and costly, as the act would incur annual costs of up to $560,000. Vote no on ballot Measure 33. Ailee Slater — YES In the coming weeks, there is one overwhelming question being asked of almost every Oregon citizen. Left or right? No, it’s not a political query. We’re trying to decide which way the bowl goes. With the issue of medical cannabis, and cannabis pol icy in general, the main problem seems to be that fear exists not of the drug itself but of the drug’s im age. For many, marijuana may con jure images of college kids gathering in dingy laundry rooms for one more bong rip, rather than AIDS pa tients desperately seeking the one medicine that can calm their stom achs, allow them to eat and possibly save their lives. So, come this elec tion, remember that voting yes on Measure 33 simply lets already qual ified patients receive more of the medicine that they need. Don’t vote with stereotypes, vote with your right hand. Because everyone knows that you pass with your left. Chuck Slothower — NO Only in the state that hosts the Oregon Country Fair would the peo ple propose a ballot measure that would allow convicted drug dealers to become a “dispensary” and dis tribute marijuana legally. Marijuana doesn’t pose a great enough danger to public health to override the indi vidual’s right to live the way he or she chooses, so 1 support legaliza tion. But Measure 33 isn’t the way to do it. It should give voters pause that the chief petitioner of the 1998 measure that started Oregon’s med ical marijuana program opposes Measure 33, believing it would inter fere with the current patient-based program. Measure 33 would also al low individual users to possess up to a pound of marijuana. A friggin’ pound! To those of you who haven’t lived in Eugene long enough, a pound is an enormous amount of pot. Allowing users to possess that much, I believe, would lead to a lot of illicit dealing. Jennifer McBride — YES The Oregon voters have decided that marijuana is a legitimate med ical treatment. However, some sufferers are unable to have access to any cure because of their condi tion. There is no reason mobile people should have access to one drug and immobile people an other; that is discrimination on the basis of illness and it is wrong. By current law, the people who need it most are excluded from treatment when they should be helped. The arguments against the measure — that this is a step towards legal ization — are fallacious at best. Medical marijuana is already legal, creating distribution won't increase chances of legalization, it will only increase access. There’s still a long way to go between that and decriminalization. Finally, 1 think we have a moral imperative to relieve suffering whenever possible. The government should not stand idly by when it could help its own people. OREGON DAILY EMERALD LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged, and should be sent to letters@daiVemerald.com or submitted at the Oregon Daily Emerald office EMU Suite 300 Electronic submissions are preferred. Letters are limited to 250 words, and guest commentaries to 550 words. Authors are limited to one submission per calendar month Submissions should include phone number and address for verification The Emerald reserves the right to edit for space, grammar and style Guest submissions are published at the discretion of the Emerald. ■ Editorial Incidental fees wrongly fundASUO's $3,200 retreat Let us just lay the facts-out, for the good of the student body. The ASUO spent about $3,200 of incidental fee funds on housing for an Oct. 8 fall finance retreat in Sunriver. Participants received mul tiple warnings from the ASUO Executive that the event was to be substance free. On Thursday, a panel of ASUO officials told the Emerald that numerous ASUO members violated Oregon Administrative Rules and the Student Conduct Code when they drank alco hol and smoked marijuana during the retreat, prompting student government leaders to write letters of apology and discuss potential disciplinary actions. The names of ASUO representatives, in cluding the ASUO Executive, Student Senate, Programs Finance Committee, EMU Board of Directors, Athletic Department Finance Com mittee and ASUO Controllers Office members, who consumed alcohol and smoked marijua na are currently undisclosed because of ASUO’s locked-arm politics. The individuals who broke the law must take individual responsibility for their actions. Group responsibility is not appropriate for public officials, both elected by the student body and appointed by student-elected offi cials, who break the law and violate Univer sity Student Conduct Code. The ASUO’s apology to the student body, published Friday in the Emerald, is a step in the right direction, but it is ludicrous to imply that the identities of those involved should re main anonymous. What happens when one of the retreat participants decides to run for an ASUO Executive position? How will we know he or she didn’t violate state law dur ing this trip? Every time elections roll around in the spring, the ASUO complains about the low voting rate — the much-voiced “voter apathy” of the campus community. Seriously, does the ASUO expect students to care when it blows incidental fees on joyrides to the Oregon countryside? Last time we checked, there is plenty of space on campus for ASUO mem bers to use. If ASUO members — i.e., public officials — want to break the law, they should pay their own way. It’s time for students and the University to stop paying for the ASUO’s gross incompetence. EDITORIAL BOARD Jennifer Sudick Editor in Chief David Jagemauth Editorial Editor Steven R. Neuman Managing Editor Gabe Bradley Freelance Editor ONLINE POLL NEXT WEEK S QUESTION Do you support Oregon Measure 33, which would allow access to medical marijuana through government-run dispensaries? Visitwww.dailyemerakj.com to vote. • Ye* - Medical marijuana patients need safer and more con venient access to this medicine. • Ye* — But why not take it one step further and legalize marijua na for everyone? • No - The current access patients have, through licensed civil ian caregivers and personal supplies, is working fine. • No - Marijuana is a dangerous drug and should be illegal for both medical and recreational use. • Undecided
