Letter: Marijuana should be legalized

Monday, March 1, 2004 | 8:46 a.m.

I am writing this letter in response to your Feb. 20 editorial headlined, "Pot for fun should not be legalized." Growing up as a teenager in Nevada, I can verify the percent of teenagers that have tried marijuana as presented in the Marijuana Policy Project's commercial -- 67 percent is, in fact, correct, if not a low estimate.

The availability of marijuana to teenagers is staggering. The reason: prohibition. Prohibition has led to the unregulated sale of cannabis, allowing anyone of any age to purchase to their heart's content. This is in direct contrast to alcohol and tobacco, which are legal and therefore have age restrictions. It is easier for a person under 21 to get cannabis than it is to get alcohol.

I also do not agree with the suggestion that regulating cannabis will lead to the degradation of society. Contrary to the lies propagated by the film "Reefer Madness" and the drug czar, marijuana does not cause the user to become violent or pugnacious as with alcohol consumption. Cannabis soothes and pacifies the user. What's wrong with a peaceful, laid-back society?

Prohibitionists need to look at the big picture and stop ignorantly believing that the drug war is succeeding. In 100 years, Americans will look back at cannabis prohibition and be amazed at its stupidity, much like people today view segregation.

RANJAN MISRA

Editor's note: Ranjan Misra grew up in Reno and is now a student at UCLA.