JAIL TIME INAPPROPRIATE FOR MARIJUANA SMOKERS

Regarding Ben Badio's July 7 column, 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 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 government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness
propaganda. By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in
California, the very same federal 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

Policy Analyst