POT PERSPECTIVES PROVIDE INSIGHT

Regarding Pat Tarantino's thoughtful All Hail, if health outcomes
determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be
legal ("Pot smokers need a second chance," Feb. 14). Unlike alcohol,
marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, 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. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires
homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best.

White Americans did not 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 US 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. Students who want to help end the
intergenerational culture war, otherwise known as the war on some
drugs, should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at
ww.SchoolsNotPrisons.com.

Robert Sharpe

. Robert Sharpe is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.