Pubdate: Fri, 03 Jan 2014
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2014 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Steve Chapman
Note: This is an excerpt of a 2013 column written by Steve Chapman of 
the Chicago Tribune.

TOLERANCE-FUELS-USE THEORY UNREALISTIC

The worst you can say about marijuana is that it produces intense,
unreasoning panic. Not in users, but in critics, who fear that
legalization will increase usage among young people.

Those critics might make a better case if existing drug laws were
keeping weed out of the hands of wayward kids. In truth, they're about
as effective as a picket fence in a tidal wave. In a 2009 survey, high
school students said they found it easier to get than beer. In 2011,
23 percent of 12th-graders said they had used weed in the preceding
month.

In the past five years, drinking and cigarette smoking have dropped by
more than 10 percent among high school seniors. But pot smoking has
risen by 23 percent. Alcohol and tobacco are legal for adults.
Marijuana is not.

What these trends indicate is that authorizing the sale and use of a
substance does not necessarily mean more people will use it. There is
no contradiction between letting adults make up their own minds, with
some government regulation, and providing effective education for
youngsters about the hazards of underage consumption.

No one, after all, is talking about putting pot in vending machines or
handing out blunts at Taylor Swift concerts. The idea is to treat pot
like booze - permitting its sale and use to adults in a
government-regulated market, with penalties for behavior (like driving
under the influence) that endangers other people.

The tolerance-fuels-use theory is thunderously lacking in real-world
support. In the Netherlands, where "coffee shops" are allowed to sell
pot, teenagers are far less likely to use it than their American peers.

The alleged harms of cannabis on the teen mind and body are generally
exaggerated. And those worried about the welfare of potheads might
want to take into account the dangers that exist only because cannabis
is illegal. Criminals who grow or supply the stuff have little
incentive to monitor quality, prevent adulteration or assure
consistent doses.

A kid who gets his hands on beer doesn't have to worry about getting
toxic chemicals or nasty fillers. Buying pot in illicit markets may
also expose users of all ages to violence, robbery or extortion. But
you don't see innocent bystanders getting killed in shootouts among
liquor store owners.

The alternative to legalization is sticking with a policy that has
produced millions of arrests, squandered hundreds of billions of
dollars and turned many harmless people into criminals in the eyes of
the law, all while failing to stem the popularity of pot. For kids or
adults, there is nothing healthy in that.  
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