MARIJUANA SERIES SHOWS IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE

I'm writing about Lee Reinsch's outstanding series: "Should Marijuana Be
Legalized" and "Man Says Pot Relieves Effects of Eye Disease."

It is commonly believed that prohibiting a product reduces use of the
product. To the contrary, drug prohibition has proven to be
counter-productive and substantially increases drug usage.

Before marijuana was prohibited via the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, the vast
majority of Americans had never even heard of marijuana.

Today, everybody in America knows what marijuana is and the U.S. government
estimates that 76 million have used it. Half of all high school students
have used it by the time they graduate.

It is human nature to want what we cannot have. "Forbidden fruit" is very
appealing.

No other nation has spent more of its resources on fighting drug abuse nor
imprisoned more of its citizens for drug law violations than the United
States. Yet no other nation has been less successful than the United States
in solving its drug abuse problems. Obviously, prohibition doesn't work.

If prohibition worked, tobacco should be the first product prohibited and
alcohol the second. But prohibition doesn't work except to provide full
employment for those doing the prohibiting.

It is time for us to do something different. Substantially different.

- - Kirk Muse

Mesa, AZ