Pubdate: Sat, 01 Nov 2008
Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
Copyright: 2008 Tallahassee Democrat
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/hdEs6Z0o
Website: http://www.tallahassee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444
Author: John Mola
Note: John Mola is director of  Contact him  http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

DRUG WAR ISN'T FOR CHILDREN

Recently, our student organization,   campaigned 
successfully to pass a campus initiative to  "equalize" the penalties 
for marijuana and alcohol.  Along the course of our campaign, I had 
many  discussions about drug-war politics and legalization.  One 
common argument I heard was: "What kind of message  would we send to 
children if we decriminalized or  legalized marijuana?"

That's missing the big picture. Since when do we base  the rights of 
adults off of the message it sends to  children? Yes, there are laws 
to protect our children,  but there are also many activities adults 
enjoy that  children are restricted from. R-rated movies, alcohol, 
skydiving, driving a car, all of these things are  privileges you 
earn over time.

We should not be continuing a wasteful war on  marijuana, even when 
we know it does nothing to reduce  the usage, simply because changing 
policies may send  the wrong message to children. If we are truly 
concerned about the message we are sending to children,  we would not 
have every sporting event sponsored by  alcohol companies and we 
wouldn't have violence  celebrated on television. If we are truly 
concerned, we  would send the message that, in America, we use 
scientific data, logic and debate to decide our laws,  not politics 
and scare tactics. If we are truly  concerned, we would focus our 
efforts on education  about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, not the 
enforcement of unjust laws.

Now for the concerned parents reading this, our  organization does 
not condone or condemn the use of  marijuana. We are simply stating 
that the laws against  marijuana have created more harm for both the 
individual and society than marijuana itself.

I ask that you have a rational conversation with your  children about 
the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Too  often we expect government to 
teach us ideals and  decide what is right and wrong. I learned my 
morals  from my parents, and it is the job of parents to make  sure 
their children have the skills to deal with life.  So when we think 
of the children, think not only of the  message we send them, but 
also the thousands of  children who are missing an otherwise 
law-abiding parent, jailed for a marijuana conviction.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom