PRESENT POLICY CAUSES DANGEROUS DRUG USE

I agree with John Walter's argument that our children should not use
cannabis and, to a lesser degree, that cannabis is stronger in today's
environment. The question is: How are we going to cut our children's
unlimited access to it? These drugs are here to stay. They are not
going to go away, no matter what we do - or at least that is what
history says.

As long as cannabis stays outside of the law and underground, it will
be uncontrollable. The real work starts when we bring cannabis inside
the law. This society is presently looking and acting like a dog
chasing its tail: The dog never catches its tail, and we will never
stop children from using cannabis under present policy.

Dependence on intoxicants boils down to personality, and children's
personalities are still developing. With the present drug policy we
are actually putting our children at risk.

Even though we may come from the opposite end of the continuum, I want
the same thing as most parents: keeping these drugs away from our
children until they are of age to make these crucial decisions for
themselves.

If we continue to debate this issue of cannabis in the same way we
have, it is inevitable that more of our children will find their way
to cannabis and, more importantly, to the drugs that could prove to be
a dead end.

Margaret A. Thornton

Executive Director

Efficacy

Hartford

Efficacy is a nonprofit organization that advocates peaceful ways to
respond to social problems.