Pubdate: Mon, 09 Jun 2008 Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ) Copyright: 2008 Asbury Park Press Contact: http://www.app.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/26 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n557/a04.html Author: Robert Sharpe TIME TO CHANGE MARIJUANA LAWS If health outcomes instead of cultural norms determined drug laws, marijuana would be legal. ("Time to snuff reefer madness," editorial, June 2.) Unlike alcohol, marijuana never has been shown to cause a fatal overdose, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer-madness propaganda. By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California, the same U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that claims illicit drug use finances terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers. Marijuana prohibition seems more important than protecting us from terrorism. Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst Common Sense For Drug Policy Los Angeles - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath