Pubdate: Sun, 21 Jul 2002
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Copyright: 2002 Richmond Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.timesdispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/365
Author: Robert Sharpe

BRITAIN SETS EXAMPLE FOR MARIJUANA REFORM

Editor, Times-Dispatch: The U.S. could learn from Britain's commonsense 
marijuana law reform. Based on findings that criminal records are 
inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents, a 
majority of European Union countries have decriminalized pot.

Despite harsh penalties and perhaps because of its forbidden-fruit appeal, 
lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than in any European 
country. America is one of the few Western countries that uses its criminal 
justice system to destroy the lives of citizens who prefer marijuana to 
martinis. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an 
overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. The 
short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared with 
the long-term effects of criminal records.

Unfortunately, marijuana represents the counterculture to misguided 
reactionaries intent on forcibly imposing their version of morality. This 
country cannot afford to continue subsidizing the prejudices of culture 
warriors.

Robert Sharpe, Washington, D.C.
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