JAIL CELLS ARE INAPPROPRIATE

In response to "What's the worst that could happen: Marijuana is
legalized," by Jackson Rohrbaugh. May 28:

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.

Marijuana prohibition has failed miserably as a deterrent. The United
States has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where
marijuana is legally available to adults over 18. Students who want
to help end the inter-generational culture war otherwise known as the
"war on some drugs" should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy
at Schoolsnotprisons.com.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy