COMMON SENSE DRUG LAWS NEEDED

Last year the Supreme Court rejected an appeal that would have
prevented physically ill patients from smoking pot if they get a
doctor's recommendation. The Justices turned down the Bush
administration's request to consider whether the federal government
can punish doctors for recommending or perhaps even talking about the
benefits of the drug to sick patients. An appeals court said the
doctors cannot be punished and the Supreme Court affirmed that
decision by refusing to take the case.

Nine states have laws legalizing marijuana for patients with physician
recommendations or prescriptions: Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, and 35 states
have passed legislation recognizing marijuana's medicinal value. But
archaic federal laws ban the use of pot under any circumstances.

We have to consider the ramifications of this decision. Basically the
Supreme Court affirmed that marijuana, under strict guidelines, could
be considered medicinal in some cases. This is a major victory for
sanity in this country. Alcohol and cigarettes, both perfectly legal
and quite addictive, have never been prescribed in a medicinal way.
Has anyone ever heard of a doctor recommending smoking a pack of
cigarettes or drinking a six pack of beer for a health problem? It is
interesting that using marijuana can be considered medicinal in some
cases and a felony in others, typical bureaucratic logic.

Politicians have made marijuana illegal based on private prejudices
rather than good science. Should the use of marijuana be legalized
(decriminalized)?

Let's examine some facts:

In 1999, 46 percent of the 1,532,200 total arrests for drug abuse
violations were for marijuana - a total of 704,812. Of those, 620, 541
were arrested for possession alone (Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Uniform Crime Reports for the US 1999). This statistic would seem to
suggest why our prisons are so overcrowded. The decriminalization of
marijuana would free up cell space for violent and repeat offenders
who need to be off the street.

More than 76 million Americans have admitted trying marijuana. This
is about one-third of the adult population. (Summary of Findings from
the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.) Imagine the effect
on our courts and prisons if one-third of the population was arrested
for marijuana use.

In 1999, the congressionally chartered Institute of Medicine examined the
"gateway theory" and determined, "There is no conclusive
evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are casually linked to the
subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs" (Joy, et al, 1999,
Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, Division of Neuroscience
and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine.) This
is a favorite argument for the politicians who are against
decriminalization. They were wrong, and they will continue to be wrong if
they keep saying marijuana users become addicted to hard drugs.

A presidential commission also found, "A careful search of the
literature and testimony of the nation's health officials has not
revealed a single human fatality in the United States proven to have
resulted solely from ingestion of marijuana. This is a marked contrast
to other substances in common use, most notably alcohol and
barbiturate sleeping pills." (Shafer, et al. Chap. V.)

Between 1973 and 1978, 11 states reduced the offense of possession of less
than 1 ounce of marijuana to a civil violation, with a
maximum penalty of a $100 fine. Studies concluded that "Marijuana
decriminalization had no significant impact on rates of use, but
substantially reduced the social costs associated with the enforcement of
marijuana laws." (Single, E., 1999, The Impact of
Marijuana Decriminalization: An Update, Journal of Public Health Policy,
Winter). Hopefully, other states will follow the example of
the 11 states mentioned above, and the federal government will not find it
necessary to meddle in states' rights when it comes to
this subject.

What does this all mean? Simply, that our politicians need to have the
courage of their convictions as former Gov. Gary Johnson had, and not
pay attention to the rhetoric of people who have no knowledge of this
subject but base their positions on opinions alone. The good news is
that there are courageous politicians who put principles before
politics. The bad news is that there are not enough of them in
elective offices at this time. I am sure it is only a matter of time
before the Bush administration supports a constitutional amendment
declaring a union between a man (or woman) and a joint
unconstitutional. Meanwhile, tobacco, which will kill you if used as
directed, will remain constitutionally protected.

There is no doubt in my mind that alcohol abuse is far more insidious
than marijuana use. A drunk driver killed my wife 14 years ago. Had
that vile little troll been smoking pot instead of being drunk, he
wouldn't have killed her.