Pubdate: Tue, 04 Jun 2002
Source: Herald-Times, The (IN)
Copyright: 2002 The Herald-Times
Contact:  http://www.hoosiertimes.com/mv-to-top/index-ht.php3
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1498
Author: Roy Graham
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

MARIJUANA AND HARM

To the editor:

The push to legalize marijuana is somewhat misguided.

It is not a mild or harmless drug.

Most of the available marijuana is so strong it causes shakes and heart 
palpitations.

In other words, it "ain't yer daddy's weed" anymore.

Much of it is laced or treated with other more harmful drugs.

For the advocates of legalization, I agree they have some good points: the 
war on drugs is expensive and it costs a lot to house convicted users in 
jail. In a slight but important way, the Indiana Legislature has recently 
modified the law to allow, in most cases, treatment in lieu of prosecution.

But the real issue is how wasteful and destructive the drug is. It 
literally fries the brain and destroys memory. It makes users quite lazy. 
And it is extremely addictive.

If the reader doesn't agree, I strongly suggest paying attention to how 
many defendants on probation in Monroe County find themselves back in jail 
because they can't stop using it. In other words, even after they are 
instructed by the court at sentencing that they cannot "use" while on 
probation, they continue to use, in spite of the fact that they could be 
put in jail for it.

In almost 12 years of private practice in both criminal and family law 
matters, I am convinced that marijuana is a destructive and insidious drug.

Don't waste your money and don't risk your freedom.

Stay away from it.

Roy Graham
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