Pubdate: Mon, 18 Sep 2000
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2000 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Author: Dorothy Attwood

BAN MAKES POT MORE ENTICING

Responding to Paul Jenkins' column "Dope vote: No time for political 
cowards" (Sept. 15): He asks where are all "our elected officials and other 
opinion leaders"? He intimates these are cowards who are "slinking" around. 
Maybe, Mr. Jenkins, they have answered the question, "What good has come of 
our present drug laws?"

I've been on this planet more than 71 years. I have learned one thing about 
human nature. "Tell me I can't do it! Oh, yeah?!" Fifty years ago, when I 
started raising children, if we wanted the kids to go outside and quit 
pestering us we would say something like, "I don't want you to go outside 
and play today!" We called it "reverse psychology." Grandma didn't have a 
word for it, she just knew it worked. Kids went outside, and we went on 
with our kaffe klatch or quilting bee.

If we legalize marijuana, there will be an upsurge in use for a while. That 
will settle down and it will then become a "societal" thing. Society 
(peers) will look down on users and that has through time been the most 
effective means of imposing morals. As long as you allow petty tyrants to 
try to tell people, through laws, how they must live, you had just better 
be building more and more prisons! You can't legislate morals, and you can 
only legislate against some actions! You have human nature to contend with.

- -- Dorothy Attwood

Wasilla
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