Madison NORML

Source: Wisconsin State Journal
Pubdate: April 20, 2006

TRY A 'DAY WITHOUT CANNABIS CONSUMERS'

Events like a "Day without Latinos" have helped mobilize opposition to proposed changes in federal immigration laws. With all due respect to those activists, may I propose a "Day without Cannabis Consumers" to demonstrate that people using cannabis are just normal people, too?

If people only felt free enough to come out as cannabis consumers without fear of losing their jobs, educational access, housing and liberty, a diverse swath of society would be represented. They would be our families, neighbors and coworkers, responsibly using cannabis for personal reasons or as medicine.

President Richard Nixon ignored the findings of his own commission on marijuana, which in 1972 recommended decriminalizing possession and distribution of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Nixon's commission also concluded that "neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety."

Cannabis does not trigger violent crime like alcohol, nor is it linked to health problems like tobacco. A Harvard Medical School cannabis authority Dr. Lester Grinspoon has said medical marijuana will never reach its full potential until marijuana is legal for all uses. Our farmers can profit by growing hemp, a source of food, fuel and fiber. If our leaders truly had the public's best interests in mind, regulation would replace prohibition.

-- Gary Storck, co-founder, Madison Chapter, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)