WEED ALWAYS TAKES THE WRAP

Re Nat Hentoff's 'Saving Free Speech and Jesus' [April 11--17]:
Alcohol kills more people each year than all illegal drugs combined.
Prescription-overdose deaths are now second only to motor-vehicle
crashes as a cause of death from unintentional injury. Television is
filled with sophisticated pro-drug messages paid for by alcohol and
pharmaceutical companies. The Bush administration doesn't have a
problem with corporate drug pushers. But hoist a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus"
banner at an off-campus high school rally in Alaska, and they will
fight you all the way to the Supreme Court.

It is not clear how this nonsensical phrase somehow merits limiting
free speech. Culture warriors in the White House seem to think the war
on pot is more important than the Constitution. It doesn't stop there.
By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California,
the very same Bush administration that claims illicit drug use funds
terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street
dealers. So it's not just the Constitution that is expendable.
Apparently marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the
country from terrorism.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Arlington, Virginia