Sep 25, 2008
drug czar, marijuana, ONDCP, tobacco
On Tuesday, the Office of National Drug Control Policy sent out an email and put up a post on its blog (yes, ONDCP really has a blog, but unlike ours, they don't let readers post comments -- why, I wonder?) promoting a new "Marijuana Awareness Kit." Actually, it's mostly a rehash of old material, but still an interesting window into ONDCP's thought process.
The packet's introduction, for example, warns, "The fact is, cigarettes and marijuana are now tied as the illegal substance kids report is the easiest for someone their age (12 – 17) to buy."
That's roughly true, give or take a little and depending on what survey you look at. It also demolishes ONDCP's rationale for maintaining marijuana prohibition: that in order to "protect the children," we must keep marijuana illegal for adults, and any lessening of adult penalties will lead to an explosion of marijuana use among our kids.
But in 2007 we arrested over 872,000 Americans on marijuana charges -- 775,000 for simple possession -- and zero for possession of cigarettes. Yet not only is marijuana just as available to kids as cigarettes, the CDC reports that current use rates are statistically tied as well.
And if you look closely at that CDC chart, teen cigarette smoking is down markedly since 1991, while marijuana use is up. One significant reason for this is the successful crackdown on cigarette sales to minors, something only possible when a product is legally regulated.
So the reason for sticking blindly with our current policies is what again?