Pubdate: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Copyright: 2013 Star Tribune Contact: http://www.startribunecompany.com/143 Website: http://www.startribune.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/266 Author: Thomas Evans Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n352/a05.html IT'S TIME FOR STATE TO ADDRESS ISSUES As one who spent more than 20 years in law enforcement fighting the "drug war," I can attest to its absurd, futile and tragic nature. Tragic, in that many wonderful youngsters are irrevocably harmed by our reactionary punishment of recreational marijuana use. We'll never know how many people missed out on well-deserved careers, fell into severe depression or harmed themselves because of the impact of a minor infraction of experimenting with an innocuous drug. Further, as noted in the commentary, prescription drugs kill far more people than do cocaine and heroin combined. THOMAS EVANS, Bemidji, Minn. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom