Pubdate: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 Source: Quesnel Cariboo Observer (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 Robert Sharpe Contact: http://www.quesnelobserver.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1260 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n677/a01.html CHILDREN FIRST Editor: Re: The raw and ugly side of life, Observer, Aug. 19. Lost in the debate over marijuana is the ugly truth behind marijuana prohibition. North America's marijuana laws are based on culture and xenophobia, not science. The first marijuana laws were a racist reaction to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s. Writing under the pen name Janey Canuck, Emily Murphy warned Canadians about the dread reefer and its association with non-white immigrants. The sensationalist yellow journalism of William Randolph Hearst led to its criminalization in the United States. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White North Americans did not even begin to smoke marijuana until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. When threatened, the drug war gravy train predictably decries the "message" that drug policy reform sends to children. There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like to think the children are more important than the message. Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D