Dialogue
Marijuana a crime? Not in the eighties
By Marco Procaccini
Copy Editor
Marijuana is again at the
center of controversy in
Oregon State politics. The
question is whether to
decriminalize it.
Marijuana, or Cannibus
(also called pot, grass, weed,
jake, etc.) is presently illegal.
Anyone caught with posses­
sion is subject to fines, im­
prisonment, reprimands and
other forms of wonderful
punishment.
The drive to legalize the
drug has been resisted by
various conservative lobbyist
groups.
These groups argue that
keeping the drug illegal will
lower the number of users. I
guess they haven’t heard the
local statistics which state that
as many as 40 percent of
Oregonian adults use the drug
either regularly or occasional­
ly.
Another argument con­
servatives put up is the classic
about how marijuana use sup­
posedly leads to use of heavier
drugs. Research has shown
this to be untrue. In fact,
studies done at the University
of British Columbia show that
marijuana is less addictive
than chemical or hallucin­
ogenic drugs, as well as
heroin, cocaine and alcohol.
And it does not lead to use of
hard inebriates.
Marijuana is a drug, like
alcohol. Does drinking beer
automatically lead to Southern
Comfort or some form of
moonshine? Of course not.
As far as the issue of
health is concerned, the Na­
tional Academy of Sciences
states there is no significant
health risk resulting from
regular marijuana use.
In fact, studies made by
several Canadian research
groups shows that regular
marijuana use is far less
damaging than that of cigaret­
tes. Furthermore, the drug has
been known to be beneficial in
relieving nausea frequently en­
countered by chemotherapy
patients. So much for the so-
called health hazard.
There is no need to fear
the decriminalization or
legalization of marijuana.
During the prohibition years,
there was a great deal of crime
and black market activity sur­
rounding the use of alcohol.
When the prohibition was
lifted, much of that subsided.
The same will occur if and
when the marijuana prohibi­
tion is removed.
Yet there is still one major
reservation about removing
marijuana use from the
criminal code. That is, the
mass-production and sales
promotions of the drug and
the effects they could have on
minors. In fact there are ways
to avoid these conditions.
Oregon Marijuana In­
itiative (OMI) is lobbying for
limited production and
distribution of the drug. Mari­
juana could be legally grown
on local state-run plantations,
and sale of the drug could be
restricted and taxed. Advertis­
ing of the product could then
be curtailed.
Marijuana is a modest,
safe and natural relaxant. It
can be used safely and
moderately by decent and
mature people. It is sheer
stupidity to manifest mari­
juana use as a crime and to
treat users as criminals. No
one will be hurt by the
legalization of the drug, in fact
many will stand to benefit.
Letter to the editor
McTeague candidate of future
To the editor,
It’s not hard to see the
difference between a “cam­
paign contribution” and a
“bribe” is very, very slight.
After working two sessions at
the Oregon Legislature, I can
testify that the special interest
political action committees,
presently spending thousands
of dollars to re-elect their
friends, virtually run the show
in Salem.
Typically legislators are
“treated” to expensive din­
ners, drinks and “partying”
courtesy of the many “friend­
ly” lobbyists.
In sharp contrast, Dave
McTeague is a young,
vigorous Oregonian who has
shown us that he is not afraid
to stand up to the special in­
terest lobbyists. I have seen
big-time special interest lob­
byists literally shake with fear
when Dave McTeague has
taken the witness chair to
testify for the public interest.
The years of “campaign
contributions,” dinners,
drinks and other gifts tend to
change a legislator’s view of
the world. Finally, their reality
is often that the lobbyists and
other politicians have become
their close friends instead of
the people who elected them.
This kind of politics truly
mortgages our future as young
Oregonians to the past. If you
want to see higher education
properly funded, if you want
to be able to see a clean en­
vironment, if you want a de­
cent job, if you want to own a
home in your lifetime, if you
want to see an end to sex
discrimination—then take it
from someone who has been
there—you need a change in
Salem!
Dave McTeague is the
candidate for you if you are
concerned about your future
and your children’s future.
Sincerely,
John Silvertooth-Stewart
News
Disputes hinder faculty contract negotiations
By Shelley Ball
Of The Print
Although Clackamas
Community College’s two-
year faculty contracts expired
in July of 1983, an agreement
between the College’s faculty
and Board of Education has
still not been met. The two
sides have been holding
meetings since February, 1983.
“Needless to say, we’re
extremely tired,” Life Science
Instructor Virginia Weber said
of the faculty’s attempts to
reach an agreement. Weber is
one of four faculty members
who represent the College’s
faculty negotiation meetings.
“We’ve been meeting
steadily and have put a lot of
time into it (negotiating),” she
said. Weber added that the
failure to reach an agreement
has never gone so late in a
school year before.
The inability of the facul­
ty and administration to come
to terms on the contract has
now led to bringing in a fact­
finder: A neutral party from
the state, whose job is to in­
Wednesday, April 18, 1984
vestigate both sides of the
negotiations and submit a
recommendation to the faculty
and administration. The fact­
finder’s hearing is scheduled
for April 26.
Weber explained there are
two basic issues currently be­
ing dealt with in the faculty
contracts: Language issues,
which she said involve the
rules that govern the way the
faculty works, and economic
issues, which involve raises in
faculty wages.
Of the two major items
that have been discussed in the
language category, one in­
volves a procedure called
Reduction in Force. Weber
said this procedure, which
outlines the steps to be taken
following the event of laying
off staff members, has been
revised by the faculty in order
to eliminate ambiguous wor­
ding. The other item involves
streamlining the process of
faculty evaluations. Weber
said these two language issues
have been “pretty well resolv­
ed” by the faculty and ad­
ministration.
The economic issue of the
faculty contracts, or salary
raises, has been holding up a
negotiation agreement, Weber
said. “That is essentially
where we’re stuck,” she said.
Weber explained that the
College has a salary schedule
composed of 13 different
steps. Theoretically, Weber
said instructors are hired at
different steps. As they ad­
vanced one step for each year
they are at the College, their
wages went up accordingly.
Weber said, however,
that this has not been the case.
During the last five years there
have been few occasions when
instructor’s salaries were rais­
ed. She said there are currently
several dozen instructors who
have been at the College for
five or six years, and in that
time have only advanced from
a step four, for example, to a
step six.
Following the factfinder’s
hearing and recommendation,
Weber said both sides could
either agree to accept or reject
the recommendation. Should
the faculty decide to reject the
recommendation, Weber said
the faculty then has the right
by law to go on strike.
Dean of Instruction Lyle
Reese, who is a member of the
administrative side represen­
ting the College’s Board in the
negotiations, said he and other
members of the administration
are not at liberty to talk about
the negotiation proceedings
until after the factfinder’s
report. Don Schafer, who is
acting as the administration’s
professional negotiator, did
say there are “a number of
issues” that are currently be­
ing negotiated.
“Some are related to
money issues, others are not,”
he said. Although the two
sides have run into difficulties
in coming to an agreement,
Schafer also said “there is
always that possibility” that a
settlement could be reached
before the factfinder’s hear­
ing.
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