MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGALIZED

Regarding Jack Spillane's Sept. 20th 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.
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 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 very 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.
Apparently marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the
country from terrorism.

The following Virginia Law Review article offers a good overview of
the cultural roots of marijuana legislation:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/vlr/vlrtoc.htm

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Washington D.C.

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