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).
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom