TIME TO CHANGE MARIJUANA LAWS

If health outcomes instead of cultural norms determined drug laws,
marijuana would be legal. ("Time to snuff reefer madness," editorial,
June 2.)

Unlike alcohol, marijuana never has been shown to cause a fatal
overdose, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like
any drug, 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
immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the
American Medical Association. White Americans did not even begin to
smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began
funding reefer-madness propaganda.

By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California,
the same U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that claims illicit drug
use finances terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the
hands of street dealers.

Marijuana prohibition seems more important than protecting us from
terrorism.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense

For Drug Policy

Los Angeles