GREAT EDITORIAL ON GANJA, OBSERVER

Dear Editor,

The Observer is to be congratulated for its sensible and level-headed
editorial, "A rational decision on marijuana, please", of December 12.
It is important to remember that decriminalisation of ganja has
already been enacted in a dozen US states, including New York and
California, as well as such nations as Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg,
among others.

None of these countries have been subjected to sanctions by the US
government. And many of the US states that have decriminalised ganja
actually have lower rates of use than the states that continue to
arrest and jail users.

Unfortunately, none of this will stop US government officials -
desperate to justify their own failed policies - from spreading
misinformation and trying to intimidate the Jamaican people and their
representatives in Parliament. Jamaicans should do what thinking
Americans do when we hear such nonsense from our government officials:
Ignore them.

Bruce Mirken Director of Communications Marijuana Policy Project PO
Box 77492, Capitol Hill Washington DC 20013 Bruce.Mirken@MPP.ORG