DATA MISREPRESENTED BY THE DRUG CZAR

Regarding the Sept. 23 editorial titled "New ad campaign gives straight
dope on marijuana," I'm afraid the Mobile Register has been misled.

According to drug czar John Walters, more teens are in treatment for
marijuana than for alcohol and all illegal drugs combined. The drug czar is
deliberately misrepresenting government data in an effort to justify the
war on some drugs. The federal government's reefer madness revisited
campaign comes just months before Arizona and Nevada are set to vote on
ballot initiatives that would decriminalize marijuana.

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 by the drug czar to make
the claim that marijuana is addictive.

There is a big difference between voluntary treatment and government
coercion. 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 government priorities,
but absolutely nothing about the relative harms of marijuana.

For a more objective take on marijuana, look to the Canadian Senate. After
months of research, it recently concluded that marijuana is relatively
benign, marijuana prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law
enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use.

ROBERT SHARPE

Program Officer

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.