Letter to the Editor: Ridiculous comments
BY James Rees, Bixby
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
12/05/12 at 3:04 AM
I could not believe the comments from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control ("Medical marijuana study nixed by state official," Nov. 29). Spokesman Mark Woodward needs to get his facts straight and quit watching "Reefer Madness." His implication that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol is absurd. Does he know how many alcohol-related fatalities occur every week on our roads and highways?
Does he know how many lives are destroyed and the health-care costs associated with drinking and prescription drug abuse? And how can he say that legalizing pot would not hurt the underground drug trade and the violence and crime that go with it?
Prohibition (alcohol) did not work in the 1920s. People didn't stop drinking. It simply went underground and led to more crime. The 80-year prohibition on cannabis is a failure as well. It should be controlled, sold and taxed like alcohol and tobacco. Governments could make millions and save the costs of incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders, who make up almost half of our prison population.
Let's treat drug and alcohol abuse as a medical, health-care issue, not a criminal issue.
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