WRONG ON PROP. 2

To the editor:

The Daily News-Miner's editorial, "No on Measure 2," was incorrect in
stating that "there is little offered in the way of evidence" that
marijuana regulation will help keep marijuana away from kids. The
undisputed fact that huge numbers of Alaska teens have tried marijuana
shows prohibition is a failure; the successful use of tobacco
regulation to curb cigarette smoking by teens proves that regulation
works.

In 1995, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, more Alaska teens were current smokers of cigarettes than
marijuana. Around that time, a serious effort to curb cigarette sales
to minors began--most visibly in the "We Card" signs prominently
posted in most stores that sell cigarettes. By last year, according to
the CDC, only 19.2 percent of Alaska teens were current cigarette
smokers, compared to 24 percent using marijuana.

Simply put, regulation works and prohibition doesn't. It is not a
"gamble" to replace a policy that is a proven failure with one that
has a track record of success.

David Finkelstein,

Treasurer

Alaskans for Marijuana Regulation and Control

Anchorage