Page One

FORUM

Friday July 20, 2001

City is avoiding  

medical  

marijuana issue 

 

Editor: 

 

The first tentacle of city of Berkeley regulatory efforts to implement the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 really went nowhere. City Council attempted to develop some regulatory policy but were sandbagged by then City Manager, Jim Keene and Police Chief Dash Butler. A Task Force met several times and then died when liaison to the Berkeley PD resigned and was not replaced. The city attorney has been a significant influence opposing implementation and compliance. With the decision of the Supreme Court greater impetus is given to non compliance and failure to implement Health and Safety Code section 11362.5. 

As a recovering Libertarian I never thought I would see the day when Berkeley city government would come up with such a brilliant solution. Do nothing and back away from any regulatory activity. Retreat to the days of alcohol prohibition as a model. Speakeasies and private clubs. Capitulate to the underground free market. Forget any taxation or control. Enforce a don’t ask don't tell policy. Best of all, blame the feds. 

Utilize the Supreme Court decision as an excuse for BPD to engage in continuing negligent supervisory policy with an absence of general orders and training and information bulletins. Continue to vest illegitimate discretionary powers in investigating police and ignore state law. 

Berkeley city government thinks it is prudent in avoiding dealing with a difficult issue. But wait until the risk manager starts dealing with civil suits that will cost the city for negligent supervision from avoidable incidents where medical marijuana patients are harmed. 

 

Tod H. Mikuriya, M.D. 

Berkeley 

 

 

One way  

to strengthen  

government 

 

Editor: 

 

Local governments need to be strengthened. We do not need Sacramento or Washington to tell us what to do in many instances. Residents of a given locality are often in a position to know their own needs best and to support policies of the local government if they are informed.  

One reason why local government has had its functions usurped has been the lack of effective communication with the people.  

Better communication with the people would result if city, county, and special district “reports” were on file in all libraries within that government’s jurisdiction, or accessible. 

By “reports” is meant all minutes of meetings, committee and staff reports, annual reports, special reports, consultants’ reports, and including any report supposedly issued for board or committee use which may be reviewed by citizens. (Personnel matters about individual employees would not be included.) 

Each week as the “reports” are worked up for official action, those reports should be sent to all the local libraries, including branch libraries. (If this is not done, the ‘spare’ copies are sometimes kept in a haphazard way and may not be preserved for citizen use.) 

The libraries, as official repositories, are a better location for “reports” than the individual government offices, which are open only during business hours and which cannot be expected to keep the reports from other departments in one location.  

Libraries, located in more convenient locations, are open evenings and weekends, are more accessible than government offices.  

Citizens often cannot attend the meetings of the various governmental bodies and may find out about some action at a later date. Even then citizens may not request a copy of some report to examine, sometimes getting the wrong report much later.  

Consequently governmental bodies may be faced with letters or statements from citizens who are uninformed or who may need to be brought up to date. Much wasted time ensues.  

Whether uninformed citizens are right or wrong on an issue is not relevant to this discussion. The point is that, if a citizen is interested, has come to a meeting to speak, or has written a letter, that citizen should be given the basic information needed to make a reasonable presentation of his or her point of view, based on what has gone before. 

Since the visit to a government office during working hours is a considerable effort, the information should be placed, as a matter of public policy, in the libraries for citizen use. This policy to send “reports” to all local libraries should be permanent and official, understood by all governmental employees and citizens alike.  

Libraries could perform a very important role in supplementing local government. As official repositories they would provide valid, current information about government. Both increased awareness and support of government should result. 

Conversely, many erroneous ideas, rumors and suspicions would be deflated early on.  

The contact of the citizen with government must be raised to a high level of trust and mutual respect. This suggestion might help.  

(In England there is a national law requiring local reports to be in local libraries. The failure of the League of Women Voters and of Common Cause to support this proposal statewide, or even nationwide, may be an indication of elitism or a lack of full commitment to access on information on public issues. It’s hard to say, but it’s still a sad commentary.) 

 

Charles L. Smith 

Berkeley  

 

Deregulation is the real racket 

Editor: 

 

The letter writer of July 17, “Socialism may help solve power crisis,” wrongly stated that the market economy is “a racket.” The real racket is state intervention that is falsely called “deregulation.” 

State intervention caused the electricity crisis. In 1996, there was a massive increase in governmental restrictions, forcing companies to sell power generating plants to outsiders, controlling prices, and even prohibiting contracts for power. The state also required a difficult permit process for new power plants and restricted small local electric plants. The result of this state takeover of electricity has been a costly disaster. The state is now losing money, buying electricity at a higher price than it sells for. 

The only way to plentiful and inexpensive electricity is a truly free market, where demand will create a supply, and where competition is legalized, in contrast to today's protected distribution monopoly.  

Also, pure socialism is not statist controls, but the ownership of capital goods by the workers using them. This is compatible with a free market and private enterprise. When the state owns the enterprises, this is state capitalism that deprives workers of control over the means of production. 

Moreover, the surplus product is not wages but land rent, taken by the landlord, not the capitalist. Socialism as well as private enterprise require that this rent finance government, not wages or genuine profits. 

Genuine profit should not be confused with legalized theft. 

 

Fred Foldvary  

Berkeley