POT'S LUCK

Regarding Rob Kampia's July 10 op-ed, "Snatching victory from the jaws of
defeat," 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. 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 migration
during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical
Association.

Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been
counterproductive at best.

White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be
entrenched government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda.
By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California, the
very same Bush administration that claims illicit drug use funds terrorism
is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers.

Apparently marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the
country from terrorism.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.