STATE SHOULD ADOPT LEGAL LIMIT FOR POT

Many studies and statistics show that the effects of alcohol are more
harmful, both short- and long-term, than those of marijuana.
Organizations like Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation, or
SAFER, are attempting to make marijuana laws comparable to alcohol laws.

Short-term marijuana use is statistically proven to be less harmful
to a person than short-term alcohol use. According to the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, a person who uses marijuana will experience
problems with memory and learning, distorted perception and a loss of
coordination. Even though these effects are harmful, they are the
same no matter how much marijuana a person uses in a given day.

Depending on the amount of alcohol consumed by a person in a day, he
or she will experience very different side effects. For example, a
person who consumes one to four ounces of alcohol in an hour will be
more talkative than normal, whereas a person who consumes 16 to 30
ounces in an hour can become comatose or even die, according to the
book "Buzzed: the straight facts about the most used and abbused
drugs from alcohol to ecstasy." The book also says that people can
die from consuming a high concentration of alcohol in a short period
of time because the alcohol suppresses the parts of the brain that
control breathing. This is also why a person who has had too much to
drink can pass out.

The purpose of SAFER is to, "educate the public about the simple fact
that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol," according to its Web
site. The organization works with universities around the country in
an attempt to reduce marijuana penalties.

Indiana should work with SAFER to adopt a legal limit for marijuana
possession. The proposed limit is "... making legal the possession of
one ounce or less of marijuana for any person 21 years of age or older."

Since Indiana has a legal limit for alcohol, .08 blood alcohol
content, it should also adopt a legal limit for a drug that is
statistically less harmful short-term.