Pubdate: Tue, 24 Dec 2013
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2013 Star Advertiser
Contact: 
http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html
Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154
Author: Pamela Lichty

POT PROHIBITION HAS UNINTENDED EFFECTS

We agree with your view, "Marijuana not a good idea for kids" 
(Star-Advertiser, Off the News, Dec. 21), as shown by recent 
research. And the just-released Monitoring the Future study shows 
that use of marijuana among adolescents has risen.

But that government survey also shows that the use of cigarettes and 
alcohol among teens is at an all-time low.

The use of prescription painkillers and synthetic marijuana is also down.

The harms of marijuana pale compared to these other drugs.

None of us wants to see kids using pakalolo, but that's not a reason 
to continue marijuana prohibition with its negative side effects - 
diverting the police from real crime, enriching cartels, 
criminalizing young people, and perpetuating racial inequalities to name a few.

For the past 40 years these laws have failed to make marijuana less 
available to young people. Like other states, Hawaii must rethink the 
unintended consequences of marijuana prohibition.

Pamela Lichty

President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom