Monologue
Idle Hands
By J. Dana Haynes
First off, no one in their right mind would con
sider Molalla Avenue beautiful. And no one with a
lick of sense would consider Molalla Avenue to be
a haven of safe, calm drivers.
In point of fact, Molalla Avenue is second on
ly to McLoughlin Boulevard in the county’s list of
dangerous, drab and dilapidated roadways.
Well, now the people who brought you
Molalla Avenue have outdone themselves. Steel
plates have recently been strewn along the east
side of our favorite road. Each plate is approx
imately nine-feet-by-nine-feet, and sticks up from
the concrete about one inch. There are six such
plates, duly dubbed “speed bumps” by some peo
ple, and they are spaced about 600 feet apart
stretching from Warner-Milne Road to the 90
degree turn that changes Molalla into 7th Avenue.
The Print felt that, as bizarre as these speed
bumps are, they deserved our attention. I called
the Clackamas County Roads Department and
asked why the plates had been put in the road.
The county shrugged and explained that
Molalla falls into the perview of the Oregon State
Roads Department.
So I called them. Au contraire, according to
the State. The six guillotine blades were installed
by the City of Oregon City, so I was told, and they
and only they could answer my questions.
So I called the City of Oregon City. Specifical
ly, Mr. Bill Parish, the man responsible for the
plates.
After four stints in the telephonic purgatory
of “hold,” I finally got Mr. Parish, who quickly and
concisely explained the reasons for the obstacle
course.
First, Mr. Parish explained, the city is relining
a 16-inch water pipe which runs under Molalla
Avenue. Second, the plates should only be there
for two or three weeks more.
And last but not least, Mr. Parish informed
me that the plates are not hazardous. That, in fact,
they were inspected and approved by the Highway
Department, and found to be safe and sound.
Nonsense. The plates are clearly dangerous
to the unsuspecting driver. I was first introducted
to them one night last week. I was driving home
from the College at about 11:30 p.m. in a lovely
pea soup fog when the first aegis caught my two
left tires, jerked the wheel out of my hands and
sent my car into the other lane. Fortunately there
were few cars on the road at that hour, and no
harm was done (if you ignore the near-thing with
my bladder).
I realize, of course, that most people pass
along Molalla in the light of day. Still and all,
these plates are a hazard to the unsuspecting
passer-by. I know of at least two people who had
similar first-encounters as mine, but in the middle
of the afternoon.
One obvious suggestion would be a sign say
ing something droll like “Construction Ahead,” or
some such thing. Putting up a sign would at least
give the on-coming driver a bit of warning and pro
bably reduce the speed of the vehicle.
This is not a major, earth-shattering problem.
I am sure that no one has bashed their car
because of the plates, and no deaths have occur
red. But it is very bad on one’s tires, it is scary
when first encountered, and it is a problem easily
fixed by adding a sign.
In the meantime, The Print suggests another
route be taken when driving south from the Col
lege.
Marijuana should be legal
Doug Vaughan
In the summer of 1982 more than $32
million worth was harvested in Josephine Coun
ty on Siskiyou National Forest Lands. The
timber harvested in that same area during the
entire fiscal year was only $3.3 million. The $32
million harvest was a crop known as Marijuana.
When a harmful and illegal drug brings in
10 times as much money as an industry that is
suppose to be the economic mainstay, then
something is not right.
An organization called Oregonians
Cooperating to Reduce Drug Abuse held a press
conference in Portland late in 1982 that they
wanted law-makers to refer the proposed
Oregon Marijuana Control Act to the voters in
1984.
The bill was prepared for introduction in the
1983 Legislature, and would put the state in the
marijuana business.
The proposal is practical and should be sup
ported by Oregonians. It would set up a program
that would have the state regulating the sale of
the drug.
The bill is not considered a legalization bill,
but a permit for people over 21 to use mari
juana.
It is also supported by growers of the plant.
Another plus for the bill is that it would eliminate
the black market and criminal elements, and it
would remove access for children.
Besides eliminating the various problems
the drug causes by being illegal, it would also
generate money into the State. It is estimated
that $500 million to $1 billion a year in Oregon.
Along with that statistic, one member of the
O.C.R.D.A. predicted the tax on the growers
could raise up to $200 million annually for the
State.
With the economic times that Oregon is fac
ing now, a bill like this is a ray of light at the end
of the tunnel to economic recovery.
The State would license growers and sellers
and each package would carry a state seal. The
money raised from the sales would be separated
into police enforcement and public education,
thus benefiting Oregonians.
Use of the plant would not be limited to
pleasure. One by-product of the plant is paper.
The stalks of marijuana plants are 16 times
stronger than wood pulp.
Usable marijuana stalks can be grown in
one year, whereas forests of trees take many
years before they are harvested. On top of that
every 10,000-acre marijuana tract would yield
the equivalent of 40,000 acres of wood pulo
productions, according to the O.C.R.D.A.
One fear of most people is for minors’ use of
the drug. The bill, if passed, would seem to help
that cause. The same organization that is sup
porting this proposal helped to pass a law in
1981 that banned the sale of drug paraphernalia
to minors.
“We are trying to protect children,” Joe
Wilson, O.C.R.D.A. representative, said. “We
feel this will do more to protect our children than
the current system, where it is out of control.”
It is highly improbable that the marijuana
problem is going to vanish through strict law en
forcement, or educated efforts. Drinking and
bootlegging did not vanish during prohibition.
It is possible then to think that marijuana use
has been stimulated by the harsh, anti-marijuana
laws just as drinking was during prohibition.
An editorial in The New York Times said,
“Like it or not, marijuana is here to stay. Some
day, some way, a prohibition so unenforceable
and so widely flouted must give way to reality.”
The reality is to license it, regulate it, free it
from contaminants such as paraquat or other
drugs, and make sure that its dangers are widely
publicized.
The use of marijuana is different from the
abuse of it. Some people fail to realize this and
stick to the assumption that any use of this plant
is abuse.
The use compared to abuse falls into the
same category as alcohol use and abuse.
Moderate use of alcohol is acceptable, yet
everyone knows that abuse of alcohol is a bad
scene.
I do not push the use of marijuana. I feel it is
up to the individual to decide what they want to
do, just as I do not push the use of alcohol.
Since the black market is so large and so in
vulnerable, I feel a bill like this one would only
benefit Oregonians. Besides controlling the black
market the bill would also put money into the
state, and everyone knows that is something we
need.
Editor’s note: All information was compiled
from data distributed by O.C.R.D.A..
Dialogue
Music article
misses point
To the Editor:
I am a senior at Saint Mary
of the Valley Academy.
My sister who is a student
at Clackamas Community Col
lege, brought home the
February 23, 1982, issue of
The Print. After reading a few
articles, I came across your arti
cle “All rock and roll not ‘devil’s
music.” After I finished reading
your article, I couldn’t believe a
college student had written this
so called piece of journalism.
All your article proved was that
you’re closed minded to any
proof that satanic music exists
in some,not all rock music.
Your whole article was
centered around your biased your subconscious had been af
opinion. I would like to know if fected by this type of music.
you have actual support of Lastly, did you play rock music
satanic music not existing in 24 hours a day to your aunt’s
corn plants? A reply would be
rock music.
Unless you had a super appreciated.
Sincerely,
natural experience, I don’t
Mimi Zapien
think you would be aware that
THE PRINT, a member of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers
Association, aims to be a fair and impartial journalistic medium
covering the campus community as thoroughly as possible. Opi
nions expressed In THE PRINT do not necessarily relect those of
the College administration, faculty, Associated Student Govern
ment or other members of THE PRINT.
Office: Trailer B; telephone: 657-8400, ext. 309, 310
Editor In Chief: J. Dana Haynes
News Editor: Doug Vaughan
Arts Editor: Brett Bigham
Sports Editor: Rob Conner
Photo Editor: Duane Hlersche
Copy Editor: Kristi Blackman
Staff Writers: Shelley Ball, Dianna Hardy, T. Jeffries, F.T. Morris
Staff Photographers: Russ McMillen, Duane Hlersche, Troy
Maben, Joel Miller, Rick Obritschkewitsch, Jennl Weber
Business Manager: Joan Seely
Typesetter: Teresa A. Hannaford
Advisor: Dana Spielmann
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Clackamas Community College
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