EASING DRUG LAWS WILL HELP KIDS

I am so tired of hearing the argument that reducing marijuana
penalties would be bad for children (Column, Henry Aubin, May 29, "New
drug rules would hurt kids").

For one, there's the experience of the Netherlands, which has had
relaxed pot laws for decades and actually has lower rates of use by
youth than countries with harsher laws.

Second, being illegal, pot is actually easier for kids to get than
alcohol.

Third, at least here in the U.S., many kids caught using pot are sent
to jail or treatment facilities that actually expose them to harder
drugs and more deviant peers and make matters worse. Kids arrested for
pot-smoking become ineligible for federal student aid and can be
expelled from school for just one incident.

These actions are far more damaging than even becoming addicted to
marijuana: you can quit pot, but you can't get back the opportunities
denied because of the harsh consequences of these laws.

So, help kids by changing the laws. Use the money formerly spent on
enforcing drug laws to help the kids who do get into trouble. And help
us down here in the U.S. see the damage we've done by spreading
anti-drug hysteria.

Maia Szalavitz

New York