Pubdate: Wed, 04 Dec 2013
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Copyright: 2013 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www2.indystar.com/help/letters.html
Website: http://www.indystar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210
Author: Travis Rubeck

INDIANA SHOULD LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

The time has come for Indiana to legalize, regulate and tax cannabis 
just like alcohol. Every time I read someone's name in the arrest 
section for marijuana possession, I am stricken with a profound sense 
of injustice. Indeed, if the person has driven under the influence, 
or has otherwise caused trouble, then on that basis they should be 
punished. But the simple act of possessing or using cannabis should 
not be a crime.

If the burden were mine to justify legalization, I could fill several 
pages of newsprint making a persuasive case. The evidence is 
overwhelming. But in a nation that is supposed to be founded on 
freedom, it should be the burden of the prohibitionist to justify why 
an adult citizen should be deprived of his liberty for consuming a 
relatively benign natural substance. If such a case were made on the 
basis of harm, then the prohibitionist should be equally willing to 
outlaw alcohol, tobacco and nearly every form of junk food available. 
All of these are infinitely more harmful than cannabis.

Cannabis has been used for centuries as a natural part of holistic 
well-being. Not only is it beneficial to the seriously ill, it is 
also known to relieve a wide variety of problems that commonly 
afflict regular people. Cannabis safely reduces stress, anxiety, 
acute pain and many other ailments, and can be grown in the garden 
like tomatoes. In fact, probably half of what the average adult has 
in his medicine cabinet could be thrown out if cannabis were legally 
available. The only reason why people consider cannabis illicit is 
because it has been illegal since 1937, and they don't know any 
different. This was the result of myth and propaganda that has since 
been discredited. It is time to escape this nonsense, abolish the 
status quo, and come up with sensible and humane policy that reflects 
the actual nature of cannabis.

Travis Rubeck Monticello
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