SPARK IT UP

Dear Editor:

There are some very good reasons for all nations to change the marijuana
laws.

The first is that marijuana laws were based on racism, ignorance, and
nonsense. In some parts of the U.S. it was outlawed because it was thought
it would make people go crazy.

In other areas it was outlawed because of the fear that heroin addiction
would lead to the use of marijuana, exactly the opposite of the modern myth.

At no time did the lawmakers consider any credible evidence on marijuana's
dangers. In fact, they explicitly rejected testimony by the American Medical
Association that marijuana was not a dangerous drug and there was no reason
to make it illegal.

The second reason is that every government commission that has studied the
subject has concluded that the marijuana laws cause more harm than good, no
matter what you think about marijuana.

Clifford Schaffer

DRCNet Online Library of Drug Policy

California