Pubdate: Sun, 20 Mar 2005
Source: Reno Gazette-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2005 Reno Gazette-Journal
Contact: http://www.rgj.com/helpdesk/news/letter_to_editor.php
Website: http://www.rgj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/363
Author: Kevin Quint
Note: Kevin Quint is executive director of Join Together Northern Nevada, a 
substance abuse coalition.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/marijuana+initiative
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA ISN'T GOOD FOR NEVADA

Nevada citizens need to ask themselves if legalizing recreational
marijuana is a good thing for our state.

The supporters of the "Regulation of Marijuana" measure would like you
to be able to stop by a store on your way home from work and buy
bread, milk and marijuana.

Although the supporters would lead you to believe their measure would
regulate marijuana usage, the passage of this measure would serve only
to increase marijuana use and the social problems related to that use.
It would allow adults age 21 and older to possess one ounce of
marijuana and would make Nevada the only state in the nation to
legalize its use.

Since Nevada lawmakers did not take a stand on the measure, it will
automatically appear on the 2006 election ballot.

Making marijuana a legal substance offers no benefits to Nevada
citizens. In fact, the liabilities are numerous:

* More people in our state would use marijuana.

* More people in our state would require substance abuse intervention
and/or treatment for addiction.

* More people in our state would go to prison for crimes committed
while under the influence of marijuana, e.g. drugged driving.

If we compare cigarettes to marijuana, smoking just four marijuana
"joints" is equal to smoking one pack of cigarettes. Marijuana
contains more than 400 chemicals and deposits four times more tar into
the lungs than tobacco. Because of the potential for more marijuana
users, we would feel the financial burden of a higher number of cases
of chronic diseases such as bronchitis and a higher number of people
suffering from cancers like lung, larynx and tongue.

Marijuana is an addictive drug. It is the most commonly used illicit
drug with 14.6 million Americans using it each month. Two-thirds of
new marijuana users are under 18. In teen and adult users, marijuana
has been shown to slow learning and the ability to retain information,
disrupt concentration and impair short-term memory. More youth enter
substance treatment for marijuana than for all other illicit drugs
combined.

The supporters of this measure believe adult possession of marijuana
will not increase youth usage of marijuana. The opposite is true. If
more adults possess marijuana legally, children of any age will have
greater access to the substance. If parents have marijuana in their
home, kids will find it. Think about how you would react if your child
visited a friend's house and experimented with marijuana because the
parents had it available in the home.

With the passage of this measure, our children would get the message
that just about anything is permissible in Nevada.

It's worth taking a look at the consequences on a state that chose to
legalize recreational marijuana -- Alaska. In 1975, Alaska
experimented with marijuana legalization and found that in just six
years its youth rate of marijuana use was more than double the rate of
youths nationally.

Alaska citizens successfully overturned the marijuana initiative and
re-criminalized the drug in 1990.

The groups behind the "Regulation of Marijuana" measure in Nevada do
not live in our state and would not be around to see the myriad
problems legalizing recreational marijuana use would cause.

Ultimately, Nevadans need to work together to see that substance abuse
is reduced in our state not increased. Legalizing marijuana will not
accomplish this important goal.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake