RESPONSIBLE MARIJUANA LEGISLATION CAN BE MADE, WOULD SOLVE PROBLEMS

Regarding Pat Doyle's March 25 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.

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 U.S. 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 intergenerational culture war otherwise known as the war
on some drugs should contact students for sensible drug policy at
www.schoolsnotprisons.com

* United Nations drug stats: http://www.unodc.org/

* Comparative analysis of U.S. vs. Dutch rates of drug use:
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm

* Virginia law review article that provides a good overview of the
cultural roots of marijuana legislation:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/vlr/vlrtoc.htm

Sincerely, Robert Sharpe MPA, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug
Policy www.csdp.org