Pubdate: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 Source: Blade, The (Toledo, OH) Copyright: 2002 The Blade Contact: http://www.toledoblade.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/48 Author: Sean Elliot IT'S TIME TO LEGALIZE USE OF MARIJUANA This is in response to "Mrs. Taft condemns proposal on drugs" and "Experts say drug effort's focus should be prevention" on Aug. 2. Isn't it time for a change in a day and age when 34 percent of voters support marijuana legalization (according to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in August, 2001), when marijuana is found in Toledo's prison (according to a July 9, article), when complete legalization of marijuana is on the November ballot in Nevada, and has already been on the ballot in Alaska, when prisons are taking budget cuts and forcing inmates to sleep in recreation rooms, when the FBI transfers 400 agents from the narcotics division and over to the terrorism department, and, finally, in a day and age when countries like Canada, Jamaica, and practically all of Europe have and/or are making marijuana decriminalization initiatives? Maybe we should start to question the system in place instead of rejecting all initiatives that might prove to be more successful. SEAN ELLIOT Robinwood Avenue - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens