PROHIBITION II IS WORKING AS WELL AS PROHIBITION I

Re: "Washington the weed capital would be a bummer," July 30

Instead of making sense of our epic Prohibition II: Reefer Madness,
Harry Jaffe only continues the stereotypes left over from the days of
Cheech and Chong.

"Pot makes you dumb and forgetful," Mr. Jaffe opines. Really, Harry? I
guess our president is "dumb and forgetful," as well as that wacky,
lamebrain scientist Carl Sagan. And cannabis (the proper term for
marijuana) kept Olympic champion Michael Phelps from being the best he
could be, eh?

There are lots of things young people shouldn't do, smoking cannabis
possibly among them. But there is no lure stronger to the young than
forbidden fruit. Cannabis has been prohibited for many decades and yet
today it is our No. 1 crop, with billions of dollars going to drug
cartels.

When our nation decided to reduce cigarette smoking, we made gigantic
strides not by prohibiting tobacco, but by providing our adult
citizens with more education and allowing them to make personal
decisions based upon the facts.

Allan Erickson

Drug Policy Forum of Oregon