MARIJUANA POLICY JUST RIGHT

Focus Is Response to New Research on Drug's Potency, Use and Risks.

Assertions that our nation's drug policy minimizes cocaine and heroin while
focusing on marijuana are misleading. The fallacy involves interpreting
drug arrests as signals of changed drug policy, rather than as indicators
of drug use. As drug use went down during the 1980s, arrests fell
accordingly. When drug use climbed between 1992 and 1997, arrests followed
suit. And when the cocaine epidemic struck, cocaine arrests rose steeply,
only to drop as the epidemic waned.

The common sense conclusion is that drug use rates and criminal justice
responses are linked. Thus, the key to reducing drug arrests is reducing
drug use. Important progress has already occurred -- youth drug use has
declined 17% since 2001.

Our drug policy balances prevention, treatment and interdiction. Criminal
justice sanctions are sometimes necessary, but we are not locking up
low-level marijuana offenders. Rather, drug courts, which use supervised
treatment to help users (rather than prison) are a critical component of
our approach. President Bush has requested an extra $30 million to expand
the program.

We are more concerned about marijuana today. Studies long ago established
marijuana as a risky substance. For youth, it is the single largest source
of abuse and dependency. But compelling new research shows an increased
public health threat.

First, marijuana potency has more than doubled within the past 10 years.
Second, kids are using marijuana at younger ages, during crucial periods in
their development, and thereby increasing risks that extend into adult
life. And third, research from many nations now implicates marijuana's role
in mental illness.

Youth marijuana use elevates risks of depression, psychosis, even
schizophrenia. For those with predispositions to mental disorders, the risk
is compounded. Some studies show marijuana can trigger the onset or
increase the severity of mental illness.

Coming to grips with new facts, we are focusing on marijuana. As we do so,
we respond to a fundamental public health problem in a balanced and
responsible manner.

John Walters is director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy.