To the editor: For several years, the official mouthpieces of American drug policy have used scare tactics and a curiously selective sort of science to dissuade voters from supporting medicinal marijuana initiatives. Drug czar Barry McCaffrey even went so far as to call the 1996 California initiative "Cheech and Chong medicine," and suggested repeatedly that allowing adults with serious medical conditions to use marijuana to ease suffering would amount to giving license to children to use the drug. Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services released the annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. The numbers are in. [continues 169 words]
Editor: Kudos to the Record-Journal for Allan Church's lucid column, "Connecticut Remedies", 24 June, 1999. Mr. Church touches on some "radioactive" political ideas he'd implement if he "ran the zoo." Church suggests that most drug use should be decriminalized, and regulated like alcohol. Bravo! No amount of prohibition is going to stop drug use, and the money being wasted on drug law enforcement and incarceration could be put to much better use in treatment and education. Politicians don't want to get near such an idea, though, for fear that it will brand them as "soft on crime." I tend to believe that at least a solid minority of our politicians believe that regulation and control, medicalization, and treatment, rather than prohibition, is the proper way for society to respond to drugs and drug abuse. However, a fervent conservative minority have succeeded in so polarizing any discussion of drug policy that to break ranks and suggest anything other than more jails and more police is viewed as sheerest heresy, and sure political suicide. [continues 71 words]
Some have said Khalid El-Amin should be ashamed, but I don't think so. There's no shame in smoking marijuana, only in being arrested for it. Considering that 76,000 Connecticut adults admit to smoking it every month, El-Amin isn't alone. How many of those 76,000 must be jailed in order to "win" the war on pot? How many real crooks will go free to make room in the prisons? That a champion basketball player smokes challenges the assumptions of the war on marijuana: that smokers suffer from "amotivational syndrome"; that they suffer from reduced motor function and poor coordination; and the implicit claim that they are worthless wretches who need a stiff jail sentence to "straighten them out." We should be ashamed for putting Khalid, his wife, his children, his team, and his fans through all this. In the end, what did it accomplish? Mike Gogulski President, Connecticut Cannabis Policy Forum www.ccpf.org Hamden, Conn. [end]
Editor: On Thursday, the US House passed an historic bill to reform abuses in civil asset forfeiture carried out in the name of the War on Some Drugs. Reps. Nancy Johnson, Christopher Shays, and Jim Maloney voted "no" on the forfeiture reform bill. Unjustifiable government taking of people's property should be reprehensible to politicians of any stripe. Apparently these politicians are not purloining enough of America's productivity via the tired mechanism of taxation; new tactics are called for. Outright theft is the next logical step. Hamden [end]
Ariel Freedman says Khalid El-Amin should be ashamed of himself in a June 1 letter, but I wonder why. There's no shame in smoking marijuana, only in being arrested for it. Considering that 76,000 other Connecticut adults admit to using the drug every month, El-Amin isn't all that unusual for doing so. I wonder how many of those 76,000, and how many of those unlikely to admit their crime on a government survey, should be jailed in order to "win" the war on marijuana. I wonder how many dangerous criminals will go free to make room for them. [continues 105 words]
On March 2, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced H.R. 912 which--if enacted--would allow states to determine their own medicinal marijuana policies without federal interference. I encourage readers to ask their representatives to co-sponsor this important legislation. As you may know, voters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state have passed initiatives that permit the medical use of marijuana by seriously ill people. A similar measure in the District of Columbia is tied up in court, and another measure in Colorado passed but was prevented from taking effect because of litigation on the initiative's signature count. [continues 84 words]
To the Editor of The Day: I recently heard US Drug Czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey speak at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington, and I take issue with his statements there about marijuana. Gen. McCaffrey told us that the criminal sanctions for drug use must remain in place, and that the most dangerous drug in America is marijuana. This, despite the recent findings of the Institute of Medicine report his own office commissioned, which found marijuana to be not very harmful, not very addictive, and not a "gateway" to harder drug use ("Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," (http://www.drugsense.org/iom_report/). [continues 322 words]
Editor: Bravo for the Record-Journal's pointed editorial, "Tempest over a small pot" (April 29th). The fuss made over Khalid El-Amin's marijuana arrest is ridiculous. The state's own statistics say marijuana is more or less mainstream in Connecticut. One-third of state residents have tried it in their lives, and three percent smoke it at least once a month. And that's only those willing to admit it to a government telephone campaigner. Held alongside the legions of Connecticut citizens who have tried it, El-Amin doesn't really stand out from the crowd. Except that he's a famous basketball player. Mike Gogulski Hamden [end]
In March, the prestigious National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine released its long-awaited medicinal marijuana report. The report directly contradicts the claims of drug car Barry McCaffrey, who has said that "there is not a shred of scientific evidence that shows that smoked marijuana is useful or needed." The report shows there is scientific evidence indicating that marijuana has medical uses, and that it is safe enough for most patients who need it. It recommends that people with AIDS, cancer, and chronic pain who have an urgent need for marijuana be provided legal protection while further research is done on marijuana's medical uses. [continues 132 words]
Editor: Drug Czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey spoke at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington recently, and I question his statements about marijuana. General McCaffrey said criminal penalties for drug use must continue, and that America's most dangerous drug is marijuana. This, despite the Institute of Medicine report his office commissioned, which found marijuana not very harmful, not very addictive, and not a "gateway" to harder drugs. Attendees received the 1999 Statewide Interagency Substance Abuse Plan by the Connecticut Alcohol and Drug Policy Council (CADPC). A 1996 telephone survey quoted in it found 32% of Connecticut adults have tried marijuana, and 3% have used marijuana in the past 30 days. [continues 208 words]
Voters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington state have passed initiatives that permit the medical use of marijuana by seriously ill people. While patients who have their doctors' approval no longer face jail time for marijuana use in those states, they still face up to one year in jail on the federal level for possessing any amount of marijuana, even one marijuana cigarette. The bill introduced by Mr. Frank would remove these federal penalties in those states where medicinal marijuana initiatives have already passed. These voters' wishes should be respected. H.R. 912 deserves to pass. Mike Gogulski Hamden [end]
On March 2, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced legislation that would allow states to determine their own medicinal marijuana policies without federal interference. Voters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington state have passed initiatives that permit the medical use of marijuana by seriously ill people. While patients who have their doctors' approval no longer face jail time for marijuana use in those states, they still face up to one year in jail on the federal level for possessing any amount of marijuana, even one marijuana cigarette. The bill introduced by Mr. Frank would remove these federal penalties in those states where medicinal marijuana initiatives have already passed. These voters' wishes should be respected. H.R. 912 deserves to pass. Mike Gogulski Hamden [end]
