DOPE-SMOKIN' TEENS

Re "Smokin' airwaves" [RN&R, News, Nov. 20]:

If Nevada State Medical Association Director Lawrence Matheis really
doesn't think that Nevada has a bigger use of marijuana by teenagers
than Holland, he needs to spend more time studying the literature.

The figures quoted in our commercial come from the most recent U.S.
government figures and national Dutch surveys, and they are consistent
with previous research findings.

Readers should note that on the Web site, www.stopteenuse.com, the
Marijuana Policy Project has done something that opponents of reform
like Richard Gammick or White House Drug Czar's John Walters have
never done: We not only list the source of our statistics, we've
posted the full studies on the site--every word, every statistic,
every footnote--for anyone who wants to draw their own
conclusions.

In fact, research has consistently found that criminal penalties are
ineffective at reducing marijuana use. In a White House-commissioned
study published in 2001, the National Research Council concluded, "In
summary, existing research seems to indicate that there is little
apparent relationship between severity of sanctions prescribed for
drug use and the prevalence or frequency of use."

Our current laws aren't working. Gammick and Walters may not like it,
but it's time for an honest discussion, based on real data, of which
approaches work and which don't.

Bruce Mirken

Marijuana Policy Project