Pubdate: Wed, 29 Mar 2006
Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Copyright: 2006 Mountain Xpress
Contact:  http://www.mountainx.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/941
Author: Kirk Muse
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n327/a06.html

MARIJUANA MAY BE A BLOCKADE, NOT A GATEWAY

I'm writing about Bob Niewoehner's thoughtful letter: "Making Sense 
of Medical Marijuana" [March 15].

I'd like to add that we should try and make sense of our insane 
marijuana criminalization policies. There is only one country in the 
world where adult citizens can legally use, possess and grow small 
quantities of marijuana: The Czech Republic. (In the Netherlands, 
marijuana is quasi-legal, not officially legal.) The Czech overall 
drug-arrest rate is 1 per 100,000 population. The United States' 
overall drug-arrest rate is 585 per 100,000 population. The Czech 
robbery rate is 2 per 100,000 population. The United States' robbery 
rate is 145.9 per 100,000 population, according to the FBI.

According to our drug-war cheerleaders, tolerant marijuana laws cause 
people to use other, much more dangerous drugs, like meth and heroin.

Obviously, this doesn't happen in the Czech Republic. Why not? Could 
it be that when people can legally obtain marijuana at an affordable 
price, they tend not to use or desire any other recreational drugs? 
Could it be that marijuana legalization actually creates a blockade 
to hard-drug use - not a gateway?

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz. 
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