DEMONIZATION OF MARIJUANA WINDING DOWN

Another election, another victory!

Not for a particular party or candidate, but for taking another step
toward ending the longest, most costly, and futile war in U.S.
history: the war on marijuana.

In November, six out of 10 voters in Maine said "yes" to a proposal to
set up state-licensed dispensaries for doctor-prescribed medical
marijuana. Maine now joins California, Colorado, New Mexico and Rhode
Island as places where patients can legally and safely purchase
state-grown pot for medical purposes.

This is the latest sign that the century-old demonization of marijuana
has pretty much run its destructive course in our country. For most
people, "reefer madness" no longer refers to the ridiculous 1936
fright movie, but to the insane cost of criminalizing a weed that does
far less damage than alcohol.

Hundreds of thousands of police agents are being diverted from serious
crime to the pursuit of harmless tokers, costing taxpayers more than
$10 billion a year.

Every 36 seconds, someone in America is arrested on marijuana charges.
More than 870,000 of those arrests are made yearly -- more than for
all violent crimes combined. Eighty-nine percent of marijuana arrests
are for simple possession, not for producing or selling it.

Meanwhile, the weed is winning the war! Marijuana use has risen
steadily, and pot is now America's No. 1 cash crop, topping the value
of corn and wheat combined. As its consumption has become more
mainstream, public attitudes have shifted, too.

In recent polls, 55 percent of Americans say possession of personal
amounts should not be criminal, and 52 percent support treating the
product the same as we do booze -- legalize it, regulate it and tax
it.

For more information, contact the Marijuana
Policy Project: mpp.org, or 202/462-5747.