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Teens know marijuana is safer to use than alcohol - Re: Teens prefer marijuana to heavy drinking, survey shows, OCT. 7.
By: Russell Barth, Ottawa Citizen (CN ON), 10-10-04
I suspect one of the main reasons that marijuana is now more popular than tobacco and alcohol is that dealers don't ask for ID cards for proof of age. Teens can buy marijuana, usually from other teens, in playgrounds and schoolyards.

The same was true of alcohol during Prohibition. Once alcohol prohibition was repealed and regulation was implemented, the problems were reduced. If youths still get their hands on alcohol and tobacco, it is the fault of adults, not the youths.

Another reason is that youths have not been told the truth about marijuana. They are told that pot is extremely dangerous, but the science to support those claims is just not solid.

They hear that the government might decriminalize possession of cannabis because of its general acceptance in society. And they see a few people being issued federal exemption licences to possess cannabis to ease medical conditions of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain. They realize that cannabis is not the dangerous narcotic that adults say, but may be just a medicinal herb.

The way to reduce marijuana use among youth is to legalize and regulate its use by age. Then users will need valid ID to acquire it, just as with alcohol and tobacco.

To reduce harm, we need to have a sensible drug-regulation policy, not propagandist programs of abstention and "Just Say No" messages. We need to tell youths honestly what the pros and cons of drug use are, and how to use drugs responsibly. Not only would this reduce use and abuse, but in the long run it would save a lot of money and lives.