ALCOHOL IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN MARIJUANA

Regarding the Jan. 22 story "Police chief against relaxing marijuana laws":

I'm sure Chief Gary Yabuta agrees with the objective of reducing harm
from substance abuse.

The correct question to ask is: What's the best way to reach that goal?

Decades of experience here and abroad show that criminalizing the
possession and use of marijuana does not accomplish this goal. Anyone
who has spent time reviewing the published research is well aware
that marijuana is neither a gateway drug nor is it harmful. However,
it's true that once youths are exposed to profits from marketing an
unregulated drug, they're more likely to have contacts with
criminals. It is prohibition and lack of regulation that causes harm.

The issue is not whether we should add another vice. The issue is
whether we should regulate marijuana and sanction it as a safer
alternative to alcohol. We will never stop people from using
substances to reduce anxiety, relax and have a good time.

Since alcohol is a much more dangerous drug than marijuana (in terms
of health effects and destructive social impact), we need to ask
another question: Why are we driving kids to use alcohol rather than marijuana?

Matthew Martin

Wailuku