Pubdate: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 Source: Erie Times-News (PA) Copyright: 2005 Erie Times-News Contact: http://www.goerie.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1347 Author: Calvina Fay FRIDAY FORUM WRITER OFF BASE WITH MARIJUANA TAX PITCH In response to "Can't beat them? Consider marijuana tax options" published in the Erie Times-News on July 29: Ronald Fraser attempted to flaunt marijuana arrest statistics without breaking them down. Proponents of drug legalization continually assert that prisons are being jammed with first-time drug offenders, taking up the space where the really violent prisoners should be. They claim these victims of the drug war are being persecuted. I encourage you to look at these numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics for 2000. A fifth of those entering state prisons were there for drug offenses. Of those, 25 percent were convicted of possession (as opposed to trafficking, manufacturing, etc.). That leaves only 5 percent in prison for possession. Only 13 percent of that 5 percent were there for marijuana possession. Therefore, less than 1 percent of all those incarcerated in state prisons were there for marijuana possession. The federal prison rate is even lower. Now that I have cleared up Fraser's prison fallacy, I'd like to move on to the more important issue at hand: marijuana abuse among teens. Does Fraser think that if we legalize marijuana the number of juveniles using the drug will decrease? Between 1999 and 2001, marijuana use by juveniles increased 3.2 percent nationwide. This national average is far exceeded in states that have legalized marijuana as a socalled medicine. California and Colorado had an increase that was double the national rate, Hawaii had quadruple the rate and Maine experienced a 54.4 percent increase. I commend Fraser for an accurate statement about the cost, $41 billion. Unfortunately, the cost in human suffering is beyond measure. I can't say whether legalizing marijuana would cut costs for society or not, but as a drug policy and prevention expert with more than 20 years in the field, I can assure you legalizing marijuana will cost lives. Calvina Fay executive director Drug-Free America Foundation St. Petersburg, Fla - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin