Pubdate: Thu, 24 Oct 2013
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n507/a11.html

MARIJUANA RESCUES ALCOHOLICS

Re "Weed over booze" by Ngaio Bealum (SN&R The 420, October 17):

Many marijuana smokers have turned their lives around by putting down 
the bottle and picking up the marijuana pipe. These former alcoholics 
no longer wake up with debilitating hangovers. They are no longer at 
risk of overdose death.

Because they have chosen a safer alternative to alcohol, they now 
lead productive lives. Yes, some marijuana users have substance-abuse 
problems stemming from traumatic life experiences. The last thing 
they need is Big Brother testing their bodily fluids and threatening jail time.

This type of coerced "treatment" is what modern-day marijuana 
prohibitionists are advocating. It's increasingly clear that full 
marijuana legalization is inevitable. Drug-war profiteers are hoping 
to keep the prison-industrial complex alive and bloated by marrying 
it to the drug-treatment industry. Legitimate substance-abuse 
treatment providers have reason to be skeptical. Forcing pot smokers 
to relapse into alcoholism is not a good use of tax dollars. The war 
on marijuana is a cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based 
public-health campaign.

Robert Sharpe

policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom