MARIJUANA PROHIBITION HAS FAILED

Health conscious Boulder residents need not fear the reefer. 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. Like any drug, 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. White Americans did not even begin to
smoke pot until the federal government began funding reefer madness
propaganda. It's a fact: marijuana prohibition has failed. The
U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where
marijuana is legally available to adults over 18.

Please feel free to edit and publish. Thank you for your
consideration.

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

The following Virginia Law Review article 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

Washington, DC