MARIJUANA LAWS TOO HARSH

Alachua County jail director Maj. Robert Chapman calls it "a shame" that a
19-year-old college student was raped while jailed on marijuana charges,
attributing the incident to jail overcrowding. An outrage would be more
like it, and Florida legislators should make sure such outrages never
happen again.

Florida's draconian marijuana laws make possession of over 20 grams - about
two thirds of an ounce - a felony, punishable by five years in state
prison. This is a bizarrely severe punishment for possession of a drug that
has never caused a fatal overdose and that is well documented to be less
addictive than alcohol or tobacco.

A dozen states have entirely eliminated jail sentences for possession of
such small amounts of marijuana with no discernible increase in marijuana
use among either youths or adults. Italy, Spain and the Netherlands all
took similar actions years ago, and all have lower marijuana use rates than
the U.S. Belgium and Great Britain have recently joined this growing trend,
and Canada is expected to this year.

Florida can ease jail overcrowding and prevent further tragedies such as
this by bringing its marijuana laws into the 21st century. No further delay
can be justified.

Bruce Mirken, Director of Communications, Marijuana Policy Project