MARIJUANA SHOULD BE TREATED AS SOCIAL, PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE

Bill O'Reilly cites an oft-repeated but highly misleading statistic in
his March 25 column.

Record numbers of Americans arrested for simple marijuana possession
have been forced into treatment by the criminal justice system. The
resulting distortion of treatment statistics is used by shameless drug
warriors to make the claim that marijuana is addictive.

Zero tolerance drug laws do not distinguish between occasional use and
chronic abuse. The coercion of citizens who prefer marijuana to
martinis into treatment says a lot about U.S. government priorities,
but absolutely nothing about the relative harms of marijuana. For an
objective take on marijuana, look to Canada.

After months of exhaustive research, the Canadian Senate concluded in
2002 that marijuana is relatively harmless, marijuana prohibition
contributes to organized crime and law enforcement efforts have little
impact on patterns of use. In the words of Senator Pierre Claude
Nolin, "Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is
substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a
criminal issue but as a social and public health issue."

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington