Pubdate: Wed, 12 Feb 2003
Source: Merritt Herald (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 Merritt Herald
Contact:  http://www.merrittherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1446
Author: Jim Summers
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n2220/a09.html

POT LESS HARMFUL THAN ALCOHOL

I am writing in response to an editorial comment after a letter you 
published from Robert Sharpe in the United States.

You mentioned you received a number of letters from the U.S. about 
marijuana, but that you wanted Canadian comments.

Well, I would first like to tell you I read the letter and your response in 
the Canadian Drug News section of www.mapinc.org, which I read regularly to 
see the state of opinion on drug laws in Canada. I have not actually read 
your newspaper and I haven't even read the article that prompted the letter 
in response. I suspect your American correspondents are similar.

My views on marijuana are pretty much identical to the views in the Senate 
report. I think the Senate report was the result of an honest, unbiased 
investigation into the harms of marijuana and it confirms what I already 
know: as far as scientific evidence is concerned, marijuana is less harmful 
than alcohol.

I honestly believe individuals and society would be much better off if 
people were allowed to do the less dangerous thing and smoke pot rather 
than drink alcohol. There is much less chance of addiction, it is much less 
debilitating for the stupid people that drive under the influence of drugs, 
there is no overdose potential, and any long-term heath consequences are 
pretty subtle.

I resent the fact I am prevented by law from taking the least harmful 
mind-altering drug there is. I also don't like being bombarded with 
government misinformation that exaggerates the dangers of pot and minimizes 
or ignores the dangers of alcohol. Or worse, blames the substance, itself, 
for the harms caused by marijuana prohibition, like dangerous grow-ops or 
financing terrorism; neither of which would happen if pot could be legally 
produced and consumed.

I have no idea why the government willfully ignores the evidence. We tried 
alcohol prohibition and it worked; alcohol consumption was cut in half. 
Unfortunately, although society benefited from the reduction in alcohol 
consumption, a huge black market was created and anyone drinking alcohol 
had to be worried about whether the alcohol they bought would kill them.

We actually tried making a dangerous mind-altering substance illegal and 
discovered as bad as it was to let people legally consume alcohol, it was 
worse to criminalize it. I firmly believe that regulating marijuana, rather 
than prohibiting it, would be an even greater benefit for society since pot 
is less harmful than alcohol.

Jim Summers

Waterloo, Ont.

Ed. note: Waterloo is a little closer to home than Washington, D.C., but 
how do residents in Merritt feel about the current drug laws? Is there 
anyone opposed to the Senate report which recommends decriminalizing marijuana?
- ---
MAP posted-by: Alex