Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 Source: Dowagiac Daily News (MI) Copyright: 2009 Dowagiac Daily News Contact: http://www.dowagiacnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1554 Author: Howard J. Wooldridge Referred: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n031/a05.html CLAIM MARIJUANA USE WILL GO UP IS FALSE To the editor: As a Michigan police officer for 18 years, I was sent to zero calls for service generated by the use of marijuana. While Mr. Lehman throws out a stat that shows 20 percent of Woodland's patients have an issue with marijuana, what he did not tell you is that courts give people a choice: jail or treatment. Of course, they all choose treatment, whether they abuse marijuana or not. Moreover, Mr. Lehman's claim that pot use will go up because it is available for patients is false. In all 12 states where adult citizens have legal access to medical cannabis, use has gone down, including use by young people. Mr. Lehman probably has a lot of stock in drug companies, whose profits are diminished by each state that allows people to grow their own medicine. The War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral domestic policy since slavery and Jim Crow. Drug dealers only fear one thing: legalization. Howard J. Wooldridge Laingsburg - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin