Pubdate: Tue, 02 Nov 1999 Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX) Copyright: 1999 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas Contact: http://www.star-telegram.com/ Forum: http://www.star-telegram.com/comm/forums/ Author: Brad Schuster FREEDOM FOR POT SMOKERS If I own a house and all the possessions inside are mine, and I happen to destroy it all (this is hypothetical, of course), do I go to jail? Of course not. Freedom is the ability to do more or less whatever you want to your own possessions as long as no one else is hurt. What if I cut my finger off with a pair of scissors? I won't win any awards for having common sense, but neither would I go to jail for hurting my own body. But if I smoke a joint, which does not hurt me anywhere near as much, I do go to jail. Who should choose what I do to my own body -- me or the government? Marijuana has been shown to be less harmful than the most commonly abused drug (alcohol), yet it remains illegal because . . . Got me! I now freely admit to smoking pot, and I encourage all fellow cannabis users to follow suit. One of the reasons that marijuana remains illegal is that people are scared to speak out. If you smoke, let everyone know. Let the public know that pot smokers are people, too. We have jobs, we have lives, and yet if caught we go to the same place as sex offenders and murderers. I value freedom above all, but the "drug war" blocks my freedom of choice. There is hardly freedom in a country that requires jail time for growing a plant. Brad Schuster North Richland Hills - --- MAP posted-by: Thunder