TRY A 'DAY WITHOUT CANNABIS CONSUMERS'

Events like a "Day without Latinos" have helped mobilize opposition
to proposed changes in federal immigration laws. With all due respect
to those activists, may I propose a "Day without Cannabis Consumers"
to demonstrate that people using cannabis are just normal people, too?

If people only felt free enough to come out as cannabis consumers
without fear of losing their jobs, educational access, housing and
liberty, a diverse swath of society would be represented. They would
be our families, neighbors and coworkers, responsibly using cannabis
for personal reasons or as medicine.

President Richard Nixon ignored the findings of his own commission on
marijuana, which in 1972 recommended decriminalizing possession and
distribution of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Nixon's
commission also concluded that "neither the marijuana user nor the
drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety."

Cannabis does not trigger violent crime like alcohol, nor is it
linked to health problems like tobacco. A Harvard Medical School
cannabis authority Dr. Lester Grinspoon has said medical marijuana
will never reach its full potential until marijuana is legal for all
uses. Our farmers can profit by growing hemp, a source of food, fuel
and fiber. If our leaders truly had the public's best interests in
mind, regulation would replace prohibition.

Gary Storck

Co-founder, Madison Chapter, National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML)