Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jul 2004
Source: Press Journal  (Vero Beach, FL)
Copyright: 2004, The E.W. Scripps Co.
Contact:  http://www1.tcpalm.com/tcp/press_journal/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2977
Author: Jerry Nashel
Cited: Drug Policy Alliance ( www.drugpolicy.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

DRUG WAR'S COSTS GOING UP IN SMOKE

They say smoking marijuana can wreck your life. And our government is
making sure of it.

More than 500,000 Americans are arrested on marijuana charges every
year. They can lose their jobs or student loans or access to public
housing. Many end up in jail. Prohibition didn't work for alcohol, and
it's not working for marijuana.

A few prominent Americans have used drugs without being arrested or
punished. But James Burton of Kentucky, who suffers from glaucoma and
uses medical marijuana to prevent blindness, had his 90-acre farm
seized by the government and was sentenced to one year in a federal
maximum-security prison.

It's become evident that the war on drugs is actually a war on people,
costing all of us billions. Contact the Drug Policy Alliance:
(www.drugpolicy.org) or (212) 613-8020.

Jerry Nashel

Vero Beach
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin