Pubdate: Sun, 21 Oct 2012
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2012 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n520/a06.html
Author: Donald G. Ross

IS DRUG HARMLESS? NO. IS IT HIGH TIME WE LEGALIZED IT? YES

RE "REEFER madness" by Lawrence Harmon (Op-ed, Oct. 13): Yes,
legalization of medical marijuana is probably an early step toward
legalization. And it's about time.

Is marijuana harmless? No. But the pertinent question to ask is
whether it is more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes, which are
both legal. I believe it is not, and I find arguments to the contrary
unconvincing. Thousands of lives are ruined by abuse of alcohol and
tobacco, but we have decided as a society that these are tolerable
risks.

We experimented with the prohibition of alcohol, with disastrous
results. The growth of organized crime in this country was partly
fueled by the alcohol business at a time when legitimate businesses
were excluded from the trade.

The unnecessary ban on marijuana similarly fuels a criminal
underground that supplies a consumer demand, which could otherwise be
satisfied by legitimate, taxpaying businesses that generally refrain
from killing their competitors.

Donald G. Ross
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MAP posted-by: Matt