Pubdate: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2014 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Gretchen Burns Bergman LEGALIZING MARIJUANA: PROS AND CONS To the Editor: I applaud the editorial board for highlighting the disastrous social costs of marijuana prohibition and for taking a courageous position in calling for national legalization. I became a mother in 1971, the same year that President Nixon declared the "war on drugs." Twenty years later my son was arrested for marijuana possession, which began a decade of cycling through the criminal justice system for nonviolent drug offenses. The outlawing of marijuana translated into a war that has been waged against families like mine for over four decades. Prohibition has robbed children of their futures, while building a huge prison-industrial complex. It has caused countless casualties, wasted taxpayer dollars, promoted discrimination and taken away basic human liberties. Mothers were instrumental in ending alcohol prohibition in the 1930s, and once again moms are uniting to end marijuana prohibition for the sake of our children and future generations. GRETCHEN BURNS BERGMAN Spring Valley, Calif., July 28, 2014 The writer is co-founder and executive director of a New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing). - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom