POT PROHIBITION NOT WORKING

Regarding Judy Guenseth's guest column: "Dangers, costs of legalizing
marijuana too great" (2-8-08).

In any open discussion of this subject, we should review how and why
marijuana was first made an illegal substance.

In 1937 the then commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics, Harry
Anslinger, testified before the U.S. Congress urging the passage of
the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Mr. Anslinger testified: "There are
100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S. and most are Negroes,
Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and
swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women
to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."

Mr. Anslinger's testimony is the main reason the Marijuana Tax Act of
1937 was passed by Congress that subsequently resulted in the
prohibition of marijuana.

Before marijuana was prohibited, less than 1/10th of 1 percent of the
U.S. population used marijuana. Today the U.S. government estimates
that 94 million Americans have used it. From a marketing standpoint,
Madison Avenue must envy the success of marijuana prohibition.

Kirk Muse,
Mesa, Ariz.