Pubdate: Fri, 13 Sep 2002
Source: Northern Daily News (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002, OSPREY MEDIA GROUP INC.
Contact:  http://www.northernnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2315
Author: Robert Sharpe

ILLEGAL DRUG CONSUMPTION CAN'T BE CONTROLLED UNLESS THE PUBLIC WILL IS 
THERE TO SUPPORT IT

Letters to the Editor - To the editor:

Kudos to the Northern Daily News for reiterating what should be obvious to 
the moral crusaders behind marijuana prohibition: consumption of illicit 
drugs cannot be contained by law if the public will is not there to support it.

After months of exhaustive research the Senate's groundbreaking Special 
Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, 
marijuana prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement 
efforts have little impact on patterns of use.

Consider the experience of the United States, the former land of the free 
and current record holder in citizens incarcerated. The steady rise in 
police searches on public transit, drug-sniffing dogs in schools, and 
suspicionless drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties, while 
failing miserably at preventing drug use. Based on findings that criminal 
records are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as 
deterrents, a majority of European Union countries have decriminalized 
marijuana.

Despite marijuana prohibition and perhaps because of forbidden fruit 
appeal, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European 
country. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an 
overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. The 
short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared to the 
long-term effects of criminal records.

Unfortunately, marijuana represents the counterculture to misguided 
reactionaries intent on legislating their version of morality.

Canada should follow the lead of Europe and Just Say No to the American 
Inquisition.

Please feel free to edit and publish. Thank you for your consideration. The 
results of a comparative study of European and U.S. rates of drug use can 
be found at: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/espad_pr.pdf 
http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/espad_pr.pdf).

Sincerely, Robert Sharpe, M.P.A., Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance, 
Washington, DC
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D