Pubdate: Sun, 21 Apr 2013
Source: Fredericksburg Times (VA)
Author: Kirk Muse

'FORBIDDEN FRUIT' IS MARIJUANA'S ALLURE

Date published: 4/21/2013 'Forbidden fruit' is marijuana's allure
Thanks for publishing Robert Sharpe's thoughtful letter: "Marijuana
prohibition: A catastrophic failure" [April 4].

I'd like to add that if we want as many children as possible to use
marijuana, we should keep it as a criminalized substance. Marijuana
use has increased 1,000-fold since it was criminalized via the
Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Testifying before the U.S. Congress in
1937, the commissioner of narcotics, Harry Anslinger, testified that
the U.S. had a total of 100,000 marijuana users.

Now the government says that more than 100 million Americans have used
marijuana. The lure of the forbidden fruit is very
powerful--especially for children.

In the Netherlands, marijuana has been quasi-legal for several
decades, yet the Dutch use marijuana at less than half the rate
Americans do. Why? The lack of the lure of the forbidden fruit.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.
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