Comments on: Pot: Why not legalize it? http://stash.norml.org/pot-why-not-legalize-it The Growing Truth About Cannabis Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:00:06 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Anthony Jones http://stash.norml.org/pot-why-not-legalize-it/comment-page-1#comment-3542 Anthony Jones Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:39:37 +0000 http://stash.norml.org/?p=1308#comment-3542 I was wondering why the author said that he thinks rates of use would go up among young people if the government regulated Marijuana the way they do other drugs that kill 100s of thousands every year ( tobacco,alcohol) who does he think puts an age limit on the drug at present? I was wondering why the author said that he thinks rates of use would go up among young people if the government regulated Marijuana the way they do other drugs that kill 100s of thousands every year ( tobacco,alcohol) who does he think puts an age limit on the drug at present?

]]> By: paul armentano http://stash.norml.org/pot-why-not-legalize-it/comment-page-1#comment-841 paul armentano Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:09:52 +0000 http://stash.norml.org/?p=1308#comment-841 NORML's letter to the Globe and Mail: To the editor, So taxing and regulating cannabis "sounds swell, but what about the kids?" ("Pot: Why not legalize it? July 24, 2008) Indeed, what about them? The Globe and Mail's premise rests on the notion that criminal prohibition limits children's access to pot and dissuades their use. Neither is true. In the US, where criminal pot penalties are far more severe than in Canada, nearly 85 percent of high-school seniors respond to government surveys that pot is "fairly easy" or "very easy" to get -- a figure has been unchanged for over 30 years. Separate teen surveys report that marijuana is easier to access than alcohol or tobacco, two regulated products with mandatory age controls. Government surveys further report that approximately one out of two graduating seniors has tried pot -- another figure that has remained unchanged for as long as federal officials have been asking the question. One wonders if use would be much higher if pot use was mandated by the government. According to the World Health Organization, twice as many US teens use marijuana than in the Netherlands -- where the sale and use of cannabis is legal. So tell me again, how is prohibition protecting our children? Sincerely, Paul Armentano Washington, DC Author's note: The author is the Deputy Director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, DC. NORML’s letter to the Globe and Mail:

To the editor,

So taxing and regulating cannabis “sounds swell, but what about the kids?” (”Pot: Why not legalize it? July 24, 2008) Indeed, what about them?

The Globe and Mail’s premise rests on the notion that criminal prohibition limits children’s access to pot and dissuades their use. Neither is true.

In the US, where criminal pot penalties are far more severe than in Canada, nearly 85 percent of high-school seniors respond to government surveys that pot is “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get — a figure has been unchanged for over 30 years. Separate teen surveys report that marijuana is easier to access than alcohol or tobacco, two regulated products with mandatory age controls.

Government surveys further report that approximately one out of two graduating seniors has tried pot — another figure that has remained unchanged for as long as federal officials have been asking the question. One wonders if use would be much higher if pot use was mandated by the government.

According to the World Health Organization, twice as many US teens use marijuana than in the Netherlands — where the sale and use of cannabis is legal. So tell me again, how is prohibition protecting our children?

Sincerely,
Paul Armentano
Washington, DC

Author’s note: The author is the Deputy Director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, DC.

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