LETTER TO THE EDITOR
On Lindero's March 20 column
Regarding Francisco Lindero's Mar. 20th column, before the Philippines imprisons more of its own citizens for drug offenses in order to please the United States, it should consider the experience of the former land of the free and current record holder in citizens incarcerated. Here in the United States, police searches on public transit, drug-sniffing dogs in schools, and random drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties, while failing miserably at preventing drug use.
The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, by far the most popular illicit drug. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future survey reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country (the results of a comparative study of European and U.S. rates of drug use can be found at: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/espad_pr.pdf), yet America is one of the few Western countries that uses its criminal justice system to punish citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco.
Despite clear evidence that draconian laws fail to deter use, the U.S. government uses its superpower status to export a dangerous moral crusade around the globe. The short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of criminal records. Unfortunately, marijuana represents the counterculture to misguided reactionaries intent on prosecuting their version of morality. The Philippines should Just Say No to the American Inquisition.
Robert Sharpe, MPA
Policy Analyst
Common Sense for Drug Policy
www.csdp.org
P.O. Box 59181
Washington, DC 20012
United States of America