The State News editorial “Drug Talk” (SN 9/18) is based on the incorrect assumption that marijuana use is inherently harmful.

In reality, it appears as though the marijuana issue is more of a cultural question. It could be argued that alcohol is more harmful than marijuana, as people have died from alcohol poisoning and drunken driving collisions.

It also could be argued the prohibition of marijuana is putting otherwise law-abiding citizens behind bars, which seems to be the crux of the issue.

The State News ran a story about how more money was being spent on keeping African Americans incarcerated than in higher education (“Blacks in prison, not college, study says” SN 9/6).

It would be interesting to know how many of these people have been institutionalized for nonviolent, drug-related offenses.

The question is not whether the United States can afford to legalize marijuana, it is whether the United States can afford not to.

Ali Beha
journalism junior