MARIJUANA NOT A HEALTH THREAT

Regarding the creation of 'drug free' zones in Nakusp, alcohol kills more
students every year than all illegal drugs combined. The second most
popular recreational drug, tobacco, is one of the most addictive substances
known to man. Yet 'drug free' school zones will primarily target
marijuana, the third most popular recreational drug and arguably the safest.

If health outcomes determined drug laws, instead of cultural norms,
marijuana would be legal. Marijuana is not physically addictive and has
never been shown to cause an overdose death.

As the most popular illicit drug, marijuana provides the black market
contacts that introduce teenagers to hard drugs like heroin. This
'gateway' is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. The drug
war makes it easier for kids to buy pot than beer. Drug dealers don't ID
for age.

In Europe, the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by
replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation. Separating the hard and
soft drug markets and establishing age controls for marijuana has proven
more effective than zero tolerance. Drug policy reform may send the wrong
message to children, but I like to think the children themselves are more
important than the message. Opportunistic 'tough on drugs' politicians
would no doubt disagree.

I regret not having Canadian statistics for you... a dated comparison of
Dutch vs. US. rates of drug use can be found
at:http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/c_drugstat.html.

More recent figures can be found at :http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thnethe.htm.

Robert Sharpe,

The Lindesmith Centre-Drug Policy Foundation

Washington, DC