Lies they tell about marijuana
Helen Redmond explains the terrible consequences of the "war on drugs" on the life-improving potential of medical marijuana.

IN PRESIDENT Obama's first virtual town-hall meeting, questions about legalizing marijuana ranked at the top of the "green jobs," "financial stability" and "budget" sections, and came in a close second in the health care section. Obama took up the question, saying voters wanted to know "whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation"--then joking, "I don't know what this says about the online audience." After the laughter subsided, Obama's answer was "no" to legalizing marijuana.

But there's nothing to laugh about. A person is arrested every 38 seconds in the U.S. for violating marijuana laws. In 2007, police arrested an estimated 872,720 people, the highest annual total ever recorded, according to statistics compiled by the FBI. Over the last 10 years, close to 15 million people have been arrested; 89 percent of them were charged with possession only. A marijuana conviction has given millions of Americans criminal records, and deprived them of jobs, housing and financial aid to attend school.

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