A great letter-to-the-editor from the Marijuana Policy Project's Aaron Smith appeared in the Vallejo Times-Herald today. It's a perfect example of the type of letter you can send to your local newspaper the next time you see a piece about marijuana (or, as was the case here, a ridiculous column about marijuana). And if it gets published, let us know, and we'll hype it here on our blog, just like this one! [SAFER's emphases in bold]

No Laughing Matter

Malcolm Donahoo's sophomoric column poking fun at marijuana consumers has no place in a respectable newspaper like the Times-Herald. About 15 million Americans use marijuana at least monthly. Is Donahoo insinuating that all these individuals are useless couch potatoes or "Cheech and Chong" wannabes?

Marijuana consumers are everywhere. They come from all walks of life. The local grocer, attorney, mechanic, hairdresser, or even your local newspaper columnist might be a marijuana consumer. It's offensive that Donahoo would deride this major group of people who simply choose to unwind with a substance that is, by all objective measures, far safer than alcohol.

Do some people abuse marijuana? Sure. But it's even more inappropriate to make a joke out of problem drug users. Donahoo didn't pen a column mocking alcoholics. Perhaps that's because it's harder to find humor in the harms associated with alcohol -- liver cancer, highway fatalities, domestic violence, etc. -- than it is to laugh at a person who seems to be enjoying his Cheetos with just a little too much enthusiasm.

What is really not a laughing matter is that we waste billions of tax dollars arresting some 850,000 Americans every year for using a substance that's far safer than alcohol or tobacco.

F. Aaron Smith
Marijuana Policy Project
Santa Rosa