Pubdate: Sun, 24 Feb 2002
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2002 The Sun-Times Co.
Contact:  http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n298/a02.html

THE REAL INJUSTICE

Regarding ''Wrong issue alarms Ashcroft'' [Letters, Feb. 20]: Louis 
Silverstein is absolutely right about culture wars heating up.

In addition to spending tax dollars covering a classical Spirit of Justice 
statue that offends Attorney General John Ashcroft, the Bush administration 
is now pushing ''compassionate coercion'' for users of certain drugs. 
Coerced treatment does not distinguish between occasional use and chronic 
abuse. Given that only users of politically incorrect drugs are threatened 
with jail, the nation's millions of marijuana smokers are the most likely 
target of Bush's ''compassion.'' Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if 
abused, but arrests and forced treatment are hardly appropriate health 
interventions. Diet is the No. 1 determinant of health outcomes. Do we 
really want the government monitoring everything that goes into our bodies? 
And if it is the proper role of government to punish citizens for unhealthy 
choices, why target marijuana? Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been 
shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive 
properties of tobacco.

Unfortunately, marijuana continues to represent the counterculture of the 
1960s to reactionaries intent on legislating their version of morality. The 
United States now has the highest incarceration rate in the world, in large 
part because of the war on some drugs. This country cannot afford to 
continue subsidizing the prejudices of culture warriors to the tune of $50 
billion annually.

Robert Sharpe, program officer
Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart