Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2014 William R. Miller Contact: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10 Author: William R. Miller BE CAREFUL WITH ANY MARIJUANA POLICY HAVING SPENT 40 years studying and treating addictions, I urge caution in changing New Mexico's laws regarding marijuana. While it is absurd to incarcerate people for drug use, there are many options between decriminalization and legalization. The Netherlands, for example, has never legalized marijuana: possession, sale and production remain technically illegal though largely unenforced, and in recent years the Dutch have been adjusting policies to decrease high-potency marijuana and drug tourism. Drug legalization is difficult to undo, witness our national experience with prohibition. Alcohol and tobacco are both so harmful that they would never be legalized if they were now being considered as new drugs. Marijuana is far less toxic, but by no means harmless, and we know too little about the effects of various blood levels on tasks such as driving, operating machinery, or flying a plane. Whatever expands the availability and reduces the cost of a "recreational" drug tends to increase its use and the attendant harm and social costs. To be sure, much harm has also been done by the "war on drugs." Incarceration and criminal records damage users' lives and do nothing to help people recover from addiction. It is quite possible to change our laws in a way that removes such harm without making a drug available for over-the-counter sales and marketing. Let's go slow and allow adequate time to study the actual effects of policy changes. WILLIAM R. MILLER Albuquerque - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D