Pubdate: Sun, 01 Feb 2009
Source: Hartford Courant (CT)
Copyright: 2009 The Hartford Courant
Contact:
http://www.courant.com/about/custom/thc/thc-letters,0,86431.customform
Website: http://www.courant.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183
Author: Geoff Aldridge

DRUG LAWS ARE ILLOGICAL

The question is not whether someone caught with a small amount of
marijuana should be arrested and categorized as a criminal or just
given a $100 civil fine [Page 1, Jan. 26, "Weedonomics"]. It's whether
it's logical for our society to allow the wide use of other social
drugs such as alcohol and nicotine and not allow the legal use of marijuana.

When you look at the biggest negative side effects of both alcohol and
tobacco use, such as lost productivity and added health care costs,
the side effects from marijuana use would be no different.

Is it logical for fathers, sons, mothers and daughters to be put in
jail for smoking marijuana while the same people can legally consume
as much alcohol and tobacco as they want? In my mind, not allowing
them to legally smoke marijuana is not logical.

If marijuana is too terrible a drug for society to use responsibly
then we should take away everyone's right to use the other drugs,
alcohol and tobacco. That is logical.

Geoff Aldridge

West Hartford
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin