... I see that they delayed publishing this article until one of their primary test subjects returned to the left coast!

Mark Berkson: Lots of smoke but no fire
Mark Berkson

Published June 28, 2003 MBCP28

The June 21 Star Tribune article "Marijuana use tied to 54% of men arrested in [Hennepin] county," was highly irresponsible, both in its headline and its content, and contributes to an atmosphere of ignorance regarding the cannabis plant.

There is no evidence that marijuana use was "tied" to these arrests. Rather, the men were first arrested, and then marijuana was found in their bloodstream.

The statement of Lt. Dan Grout, who concluded, "obviously [the men's] lifestyle of using marijuana had an effect on their being arrested," is simply an example of the kind of stereotyping all too common when dealing with cannabis in America. When the article states that Hennepin County has "a marijuana problem," it provides absolutely no evidence that marijuana use is responsible for any problems at all, thus presenting the author's own biased assumption as fact.

One reason that so many people tested positive for marijuana is that large numbers of Americans enjoy marijuana. More than 83 million have smoked or eaten it. If a random group of law-abiding citizens had been tested, a decent percentage would have marijuana in their bloodstream, which would tell you nothing about these people other than that they use marijuana.

To suggest any link with crime is to use innuendo rather than reason, particularly misleading in this case given how long marijuana stays in the blood (and thus could have nothing to do with the acts for which they were arrested) and that -- unlike alcohol -- marijuana is not tied to violence and aggression.

Additionally, if you tested men arrested in Hennepin for signs of alcohol, cigarettes or even coffee use, you'd find evidence of those three in a large percentage of those tested. It would tell you nothing about the substances or the people. But if the Star Tribune ran a headline saying "85% of men arrested had coffee in their systems," it would insinuate a link.

Furthermore, the argument that marijuana is a "gateway" drug, irresponsibly repeated by inspector Nick O'Hara of the Ramsey County sheriff's office, is false. The National Institute on Drug Abuse's own study showed that only 17 percent of marijuana users ever used cocaine.

Even among this small percentage, the "gateway" is more likely tobacco or alcohol, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Institute of Medicines study in 1999 further disproved the gateway theory, stating, "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."

It is unfortunate that people in law enforcement are unacquainted with the evidence on this issue and perpetuate falsehoods that have been thoroughly debunked.

It is hard to find comparable examples of the demonization of such a relatively benign, and often remarkably helpful, plant in American history. The national blind spot regarding cannabis has resulted in harmful, misguided policies, including the cruel denial of plant medicine to people with serious illnesses and the banning of nonpsychoactive industrial hemp.

Of course cannabis, like any substance, can be misused with negative consequences. But the truth is that the overwhelming majority of adult cannabis users, like alcohol drinkers, are responsible citizens who cause no serious harm to themselves or others through their consumption. In fact, many find that it enhances their lives in significant ways.

Therefore the biggest threat to people who use cannabis is not cannabis, but cannabis laws.

Mark Berkson, an assistant professor of religion at Hamline University, teaches a course entitled "Just Say Know: Drugs and Drug Policy in America."