BANNING MARIJUANA IS FOOLISH

Drexel NORML president Dan Cardillo is to be commended for raising
awareness of marijuana prohibition's collateral damage. If health
outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana
would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to
cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties
of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are
inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.
The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican
migration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the
American Medical Association.

Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been
counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to
smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began
funding reefer madness propaganda. By raiding voter-approved medical
marijuana providers in California, the very same U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration that claims illicit drug use funds
terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of
street dealers. Apparently, marijuana prohibition is more important
than protecting the country from terrorism.

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy