Pubdate: Thu, 20 Oct 2005
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: James R. May
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1616/a06.html

HOW DANGEROUS IS POT?

USA TODAY's article on the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP)
is a case study in the larger failure of marijuana prohibition. It is
painfully clear that CAMP is both ineffective and counterproductive.
It is the sad culmination of 70 years of government misinformation
regarding marijuana that has resulted in this expensive, tax-wasting
monster.

One of the program's unintended consequences is the displacement of
local, small-time growers in favor of potentially dangerous foreign
nationals. These nationals, who head large-scale trafficking
operations, can count on losses as part of their business plan and put
lives at risk for the sake of illicit profit. This unfortunate
situation is not a result of marijuana as a substance.

CAMP fortifies the government's senseless prohibition against what
reputable studies have shown to be a rather mild and non-physically
addictive intoxicant. Despite misleading advertisements from the
government, marijuana also does not result in the anti-social, risky
behavior routinely induced by over-consumption of alcohol. CAMP's $1.1
million annual budget would be better spent on proven demand-reduction
measures, such as treatment for those addicted to more dangerous drugs
such as heroin.

Rational judgment is needed more than ever to combat a federal
government gyrating in the throes of its own "reefer madness."

James R. May, associate, Drug Policy Alliance, Sacramento
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake