Pubdate: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 Source: Providence Journal, The (RI) http://www.projo.com/opinion/letters/content/projo_20050430_30lesh.1d6add7.html Copyright: 2005 The Providence Journal Company Contact: http://www.projo.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/352 Author: Robert Sharpe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n664/a07.html IRRATIONAL PREJUDICE AGAINST MARIJUANA Rob Kampia is to be commended for exposing the absurdity of the U.S. government's irrational prohibition of marijuana ("Medical marijuana works in Canada," Commentary April 24). Diet is the No. 1 determinant of health. Do we really want big 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 medical-marijuana patients? Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of nicotine. Unfortunately, marijuana represents the '60s counterculture to reactionaries in Congress intent on forcibly imposing 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. At an average cost of $26,134 per inmate annually, maintaining the world's largest prison system can hardly be considered fiscally conservative. This country cannot afford to continue subsidizing the prejudices of culture warriors. ROBERT SHARPE Washington, D.C. The writer is policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.