Pubdate: Thu, 01 Nov 2012
Source: Herald and News (Klamath Falls, OR)
Copyright: 2012 Herald and News
Contact:  http://www.heraldandnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2600
Author: Kirk Muse
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n531/a08.html

POT PROHIBITION PROVIDES A LURE

I am writing about the op-ed from the so-called Citizens for Safe 
Schools: "Marijuana prohibition is not a burden on society" on Oct. 
21. If you want as many children as possible to use marijuana, keep 
it a criminalized substance. Marijuana use has increased 1,000-fold 
since it was criminalized via the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. 
Testifying before the U.S. Congress in 1937, the Commissioner of 
Narcotics Harry Anslinger testified that the United States had a 
total of 100,000 marijuana users.

Now the government says that more than 100 million Americans have 
used marijuana. The lure of the forbidden fruit is very powerful, 
especially for children.

In the Netherlands, marijuana has been quasi legal for several 
decades, yet the Dutch use marijuana at less than half the rate 
Americans do. Why? The lack of the lure of the forbidden fruit.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom