Pubdate: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 Source: Student Life (MO) Copyright: 2001 Student Life Contact: http://www.studlife.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1636 Author: Ari Elias-Bachrach ILLEGALIZING INCREASES DANGER To the Editor: We have once again seen one of the basic premises of economics in action. The recent article entitled "Laced marijuana hits campus" has demonstrated that any product that is provided illegally will be provided at a much greater risk than a product that can be obtained through normal, legal means. People have to obtain marijuana illegally, and thus subject themselves to the risks associated with the black market. The stories of people becoming sick from getting Ritalin or aspirin that is mixed with some more dangerous drugs are few and far between. The incidence of people obtaining an illegal drug like marijuana that is mixed with some more dangerous chemical is all too frequent. Studies by the World Health Organization and the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse have concluded that not a single incidence of death has ever occurred in the United States solely from marijuana. According to the U.S. Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), whenever marijuana is a contributor in a cause of death, it is always in conjunction with other drugs. By making marijuana impossible to get through legal means, the government has actually increased the danger to her citizens instead of lessening it. Ari Elias-Bachrach, http://www.rescomp.wustl.edu/~wussdp/ President, Washington University Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Engineering Class of 2003