Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jul 2002
Source: Reporter, The (Fond du Lac, WI)
Copyright: 2002 Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.wisinfo.com/thereporter/index.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2271

MARIJUANA SERIES SHOWS IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE

I'm writing about Lee Reinsch's outstanding series: "Should Marijuana Be 
Legalized" and "Man Says Pot Relieves Effects of Eye Disease."

It is commonly believed that prohibiting a product reduces use of the 
product. To the contrary, drug prohibition has proven to be 
counter-productive and substantially increases drug usage.

Before marijuana was prohibited via the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, the vast 
majority of Americans had never even heard of marijuana.

Today, everybody in America knows what marijuana is and the U.S. government 
estimates that 76 million have used it. Half of all high school students 
have used it by the time they graduate.

It is human nature to want what we cannot have. "Forbidden fruit" is very 
appealing.

No other nation has spent more of its resources on fighting drug abuse nor 
imprisoned more of its citizens for drug law violations than the United 
States. Yet no other nation has been less successful than the United States 
in solving its drug abuse problems. Obviously, prohibition doesn't work.

If prohibition worked, tobacco should be the first product prohibited and 
alcohol the second. But prohibition doesn't work except to provide full 
employment for those doing the prohibiting.

It is time for us to do something different. Substantially different.

- - Kirk Muse

Mesa, AZ
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MAP posted-by: Beth