ONDCP MARIJUANA DISINFORMATION

Dear Editor,
The Paintsville Herald did its readers a disservice by repeating White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) misinformation on
marijuana.

The ONDCP is deliberately misrepresenting government data in an effort to
justify the war on some drugs.

To hear it from the ONDCP more Americans are in treatment for marijuana
than alcohol and all illegal drugs combined.

Record numbers of Americans arrested for marijuana possession have been
forced into treatment by the criminal justice system.

The resulting distortion of treatment statistics is then used to make the
claim that marijuana is "addictive." Zero tolerance drug laws do not
distinguish between occasional use and chronic abuse. The coercion of
Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis into taxpayer-funded treatment
centers says a lot about U.S. government priorities, but absolutely nothing
about the relative harms of marijuana.

For an objective take on marijuana, look to Canada. After months of
research, the Canadian Senate recently concluded that marijuana is
relatively benign, marijuana prohibition contributes to organized crime,
and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use. In the
words of Senator Pierre Claude Nolin "Scientific evidence overwhelmingly
indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and
should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a social and public health
issue."

The following U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration reports verify my claims regarding government coercion:
http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/2k2/YouthMJtx/YouthMJtx.pdf

Treatment Episodes Data http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/teds98/tbl_4_4.htm *Note
the criminal justice referral column.

For more information on the Canadian Senate report please visit:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/press-e/04sep02-e.htm

The ONDCP's misleading anti-marijuana campaign can be verified at:
http://www.theantidrug.com

Sincerely, Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.
Program Officer
Drug Policy Alliance
http://www.drugpolicy.org
Arlington, VA 22207

Dear Editor,

Drug Czar Walters is not paying attention to the US economy or Kentucky.
Mr. Walters just called for increased marijuana prosecutions, while
Kentucky just had to release 567 convicts (many for marijuana) it couldn't
afford to imprison anymore.

The US drug czar should know this. Who will pay for these new marijuana
cases? The Fed's may deficit spend till they're blue in the face and not
worry about money but our states cannot.

They have to pay the bills when due. Money spent on marijuana convictions,
reduces money spent on schools and child development programs.

The states cannot afford any increased marijuana prosecutions. There were
over 700,000 marijuana arrests last year, without any effect on the US
marijuana market.

What's the point? We spend billions of dollars on the drug war and we
should see some results; not just a prison gulag of two million low level
drug offenders.

These drug dealers have already been replaced on the street.

Radical prohibition laws are the least effective method of drug control
possible; just look at the availability of drugs in the US right now. Is
the drug war working yet? The laws only punish people that get caught with
drugs but have zero control over contraband drug sales. The last drug czar
General McCaffrey said "we can't incarcerate our way out of the drug
problem." Evidently Drug Czar Walters wasn't listening.

Sincerely,
Kim Hanna
Worcester, MA