Pubdate: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 Source: Pique Newsmagazine (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 Pique Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/index.lasso Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2356 Author: Clifford Schaffer Cited: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Note: Title by MAPinc. WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE RESEARCH Staff Sergeant Norm McPhail says he would like to see the research on marijuana and violence. He can find the report "Psychoactive Substances and Violence" by the US Department of Justice at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/govpubs/psycviol.htm In summary, the report states that the only drug with any real connection to drug-induced violence is alcohol. The violence associated with illegal drugs is primarily "systemic". That is, it is a result of the system of prohibition that creates a lucrative criminal market. Staff Sergeant McPhail says he wants to know what the studies said about marijuana. He can find the full text of most of the major commission reports over the last 100 years at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer under Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy. He will find that government commissions have been studying the marijuana laws for 110 years now and, over that 110 years, they have all come to similar conclusions. They have all agreed that marijuana is not a serious threat to society. They all said that the prohibition laws were based on ignorance and nonsense and should have been repealed long ago because they do more harm than good. They all concluded that, no matter what you thought about marijuana, prohibition was the wrong approach. The recent Canadian Senate commission was only the latest in a long line of commissions with similar conclusions. Clifford Schaffer, Director, DRCNet Online Library of Drug Policy, Agua Dulce, California - --- MAP posted-by: Derek