Pubdate: Sun, 23 Mar 2014
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2014 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n254/a01.html

CULTURAL INQUISITION

Re "Debate over pot gaining steam" (Dan Morain, March 16): Don't be 
fooled by Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Kevin Sabet is attempting to 
expand the drug war by marrying the prison-industrial complex to 
shady for-profit treatment providers.

No one benefits when scarce treatment slots are filled with casual 
marijuana users. Just as adults who drink an occasional glass of wine 
don't need substance abuse treatment, the vast majority of marijuana 
users don't either.

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 hangovers. Because they have chosen a safer 
alternative, they now lead productive lives.

Yes, some 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. The war on marijuana is a 
cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign.

- -- Robert Sharpe, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Arlington, Virg.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom