Pubdate: Tue, 02 Dec 2008 Source: Alestle, The (IL Edu) Copyright: 2008 The Alestle Contact: http://www.thealestle.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3957 Note: All hard copy letters should be typed and double-spaced. All letters should be no longer than 500 words. Please include your phone number, signature(or name, if using e-mail) and student identification number. Author: Dan Linn LETTER TO THE EDITOR: CALLING FOR AN END TO CANNABIS PROHIBITION IN AMERICA Cannabis prohibition has failed just like alcohol prohibition failed. When will politicians learn that adults who want to get high will find a way to get high, just like those who wanted to get drunk were able to get drunk during alcohol prohibition? A regulated and taxed cannabis market for adults is long overdue in America. By regulating the market it would make it tougher for teenagers to acquire the substance as well, since our current system of prohibition has no oversight of dealers. By making cannabis sales similar to alcohol sales, with licensed sellers and age restrictions, teenagers would actually have a more difficult time acquiring cannabis. Plus, this would allow adults to purchase the product legally instead of being forced to go through the black market. For most teenagers it is easier to get cannabis than alcohol since dealers don't card, so making the cannabis market a taxable, legal market would actually prevent access to cannabis by children. Why is the government concerned about "sending the right message to children," shouldn't that be the parents' duty and responsibility? Adult cannabis use should not be illegal in an effort to "send the right message," and a legal cannabis market would have age restrictions and penalties to those who supply children with cannabis. Maintaining cannabis prohibition because of its addictive qualities is a flawed argument as well. Cannabis has been shown to be less addictive than alcohol and nicotine in a study done for the NIDA in 1994 by Jack E. Henningfield. The study noted the dependence, tolerance and withdrawal levels of cannabis were lower than those of alcohol and nicotine. Prohibitionists face the problem that cannabis use is not as bad as they have been portraying and more and more studies are being released documenting the medical benefits of cannabis. Any concerns about "smoking" medicine can quickly be dismissed by the use of vaporizers and ingesting cannabis. Plus, if smoking cannabis is so harmful then why aren't there widespread cases of lung cancer among cannabis users? Cannabis has not one documented fatal overdose, which cannot be said about many over the counter drugs found in most homes. Cannabis use is still common despite being against the law and more than 97 million Americans admit to having tried it, according to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This is proof that cannabis prohibition is not working, and regulating and taxing cannabis is a better option. Cannabis users are probably the only segment of the population that actually wants higher taxes. These cannabis consumers would rather pay a tax on their habit and purchase it legally than risk arrest and with government budgets stretched thin, how can we afford to keep losing this potential source of tax revenue? A recent study by Jon Gettman "Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws," estimates that marijuana in the U.S. is a $113 billion industry annually and that American taxpayers are losing a total of $41 billion toward enforcement of marijuana laws and lost potential tax revenue. DAN LINN Executive Director of Illinois NORML Chicago - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath