WRONG SIGNALS IN WAR ON DRUGS

Editor:

Red Ribbon Week ("When it comes to preventing drug abuse, you can't
pull solutions out of a hat," Oct. 19 NSP) is a good idea in theory -
after all, no one wants kids to abuse drugs. Advertisement

But decades into the "war on drugs," which is largely a war on
marijuana, it's clear that prohibition has failed to stem youth drug
abuse. The federal government spends $120 million a year on anti-drug
ads, the vast majority of which focus on marijuana as the most dangerous drug.

Yet marijuana has caused exactly zero overdose deaths in thousands of
years of recorded use, while other drugs -- like inhalants,
methamphetamine, and prescription painkillers -- can easily kill.
This misguided emphasis on marijuana has a measurable harm on children.

According to the 2004 Monitoring the Future survey - a federally
funded annual study on teen drug use rates - eighth-graders rate the
occasional use of marijuana as being more dangerous than trying crack
or drinking nearly every day.

Yes, you read that correctly: The youngest teens consider marijuana
more risky than drugs that can actually kill them.

No one wants kids using marijuana, alcohol, or other drugs, but if we
are to keep young people from harm, we have to tell them the truth.

Krissy Oechslin

Assistant Director of Communications, Marijuana Policy Project

Washington, D.C. 20002