MARIJUANA NOT AMERICA'S BIGGEST PROBLEM

Dear Editor:

Regarding your March 22 editorial "Court ruling may limit 'Bong Hits
for Jesus,'" alcohol kills more Americans each year than all illegal
drugs combined.

Prescription overdose deaths are 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 a high school rally
in Alaska, and they will fight you all the way to the Supreme Court.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose
death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco.

Granted, the plant is often confused with the counterculture, which
may explain why some people believe the war on marijuana is more
important than the First Amendment.

To me at least, it is not clear how a nonsensical phrase like "Bong
Hits 4 Jesus" merits limiting free speech.

Then again, the Bush administration's reefer madness obsession with
marijuana has never made sense.

By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana dispensaries in
California, the very same federal government 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 too.

Students who want to help end the intergenerational culture war
otherwise known as the war on some drugs should contact Students for
Sensible Drug Policy at www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy