NFL'S BUZZKILL: NO BEER AT GIANTS STADIUM

There was far less "buzz" than usual during the NFL's final regular
season Monday night football game between the New York Jets and the
defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, and it had little
to do with the Jets' dire season record. Rather, the ennui of the
tens of thousands of atypically subdued fans in attendance could best
be summed up in three words, prominently displayed on makeshift signs
throughout ABC's nationwide telecast: "We want beer!"

That's right, beer.

Following a string of violent incidents - including a pair of
stabbings - between rowdy football fans during the team's previous
games, Giants Stadium officials made the bold move to halt sales of
the intoxicant. The rationale for the ban? Jets spokesman Ron
Colangelo could not have been more blunt: "It's for the safety of our fans."

Alcohol's long-standing association with aggressive behavior, whether
it's among raucous sports fans or late-night bar patrons, is
well-publicized and much debated. Yet, a relevant fact that is often
overlooked in this public discourse is that an alternative, almost
equally consumed intoxicant, is rarely, if ever, linked with violence
- - marijuana. However, unlike alcohol, marijuana is illegal and not
only at Giants Stadium.

Regardless, no credible research has shown cannabis use to be a
causal factor in violence, aggression or delinquent behavior, dating
back to the U.S. government's "First Report of the National
Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse' in 1972, which concluded, "In
short, marijuana is not generally viewed by participants in the
criminal justice community as a major contributing influence in the
commission of delinquent or criminal acts." (The Commission went on
to recommend Congress remove all criminal and civil penalties on the
possession of small amounts of the drug, a recommendation that
Congress and then-President Richard Nixon promptly ignored.)

A more recent federal review by the Canadian Senate reaffirmed:
"Cannabis use does not induce users to commit other forms of crime.
Cannabis use does not increase aggressiveness or anti-social
behavior." In contrast, research has demonstrated that certain legal
drugs, most notably alcohol, do induce aggressive behavior.

"Cannabis differs from alcohol in one major respect. It does not seem
to increase risk-taking behavior," stated the British Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs in its 2002 report recommending the
depenalization of marijuana. (Parliament eventually did so in 2004.)
"This means that cannabis rarely contributes to violence either to
others or to oneself, whereas alcohol use is a major factor in
deliberate self-harm, domestic accidents and violence."

British soccer fans recently experienced this lesson first hand after
their team's opening loss to Portugal at the Euro 2000 tournament in
the Netherlands. According to news reports, the British fans - whose
reputation for post-game, alcohol-fueled tirades is known worldwide -
took the loss without incident and not a single fan was arrested
after the match. The Dutch secret to keeping the peace - a clamp down
on alcohol and regulated access to cannabis.

Yet, while alcohol enjoys its status as the unofficial sports drink
of the NFL, law enforcement continue to spend billions of taxpayers'
dollars annually arresting more than 750,000 Americans for doing
nothing more than possessing or smoking small amounts of pot. Perhaps
if the situation was reversed, fans in Giants Stadium and throughout
the NFL could enjoy their games in peace.