AMERICA SQUANDERING MILLIONS TO ARREST MARIJUANA USERS

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The drug problem in Tennessee as well as nationwide
doesn't seem to be going away although the federal government spends
countless millions of dollars each year on theWar on Drugs.

The following information was released by a congressional committee in
1972. March 22, 2002, marked the 30th anniversary of the release of one of
the most ground-breaking reports in the history of American drug policy. A
Congressionally created commission called the National Commission on
Marijuana and Drug Abuse, whose members were appointed by then-President
Richard Nixon, completed the most comprehensive review ever undertaken
regarding marijuana and public policy.

Their report, entitled "Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding," boldly
proclaimed that "neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself can be said
to constitute a danger to public safety," and recommended Congress and
state legislatures eliminate all penalties for the private possession and
use of marijuana and for the casual distribution of marijuana for personal use.

Although largely ignored by President Nixon and Congress at the time, the
recommendations of the commission had a major impact on state marijuana
laws. Based on the Marijuana Commission report, 11 states decriminalized
minor marijuana offenses during the 1970s. By 1977, even the president of
the United States was convinced, as then-President Jimmy Carter - citing
the Marijuana Commission - told Congress: "Penalties against drug use
should not be more damaging to the individual than the use of the drug
itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of
marijuana in private for personal use."

That recommendation was good public policy when it was made, and it remains
valid today. And the American public increasingly agrees that we should
stop arresting responsible marijuana smokers.

A December 2001 nationwide Zogby poll commissioned by the NORML Foundation
found that 61 percent of likely voters oppose arresting and jailing
marijuana smokers; only 33 percent favor current policies. The public
understands the difference between marijuana and more dangerous drugs, and
they don't want to waste $25 million per year to lock up non-violent
marijuana smokers. Although I do not personally advocate the use of any
ilegal substances, I do take great offence to the wasting of tax dollars to
lock up marijuana offenders. This money could be much better utilized for
violent sex offenders and murderers.

Dan Bray,

Spring Hill