Thousands of Americans die from marijuana?

Dear Tex,

Last week I was supposed to be on MSNBC to talk about the federal government’s stupid anti-marijuana ads. I was bumped at the last minute because the host, Tucker Carlson, wanted to interview Congressman Mark Souder (R-IN) instead. I never thought I would say this, but I’m glad I got bumped. Souder made a total fool of himself.

First, he said that smoking marijuana is not that much different from doing lines of cocaine or smoking crack in terms of the dangers. This sends the wrong message to teens. By saying that marijuana, a relatively benign drug, is as dangerous as crack cocaine it minimizes the real dangers associated with cocaine use.

Then Souder went on to say that thousands of Americans die from marijuana every year and that everyone who smokes marijuana will eventually become an addict. And this is from the ranking Republican on the House subcommittee that oversees federal drug war policies. Wow.

You can watch him make a fool out of himself on the MSNBC website. I’ve also posted a transcript of some of what he said below.

After you have fun watching or reading his remarks, please take a minute to fax Congress in support of eliminating those stupid anti-marijuana ads. Every evaluation of the program has found that they’re doing more harm than good.

And oh yeah, I’m proud to say that I went toe-to-toe against Drug Czar John Walters in a hundred newspapers over the weekend.

Partial transcript of Souder’s remarks:

REP. SOUDER: Marijuana is the primary gateway drug, although tobacco and alcohol, because they're all illegal for youth, you could argue that tobacco is a gateway drug to marijuana. Smoking marijuana is then a gateway drug for others. Furthermore, the THC content of BC Bud, Quebec Gold and this marijuana that's currently on the streets isn't like the Cheech and Chong marijuana. It's more like cocaine. But, that aside, I and members of Congress believe this ad program –

MR. CARLSON: How is it more like -- hold on. I'm sorry, Congressman. How is it more like coke? I don't understand what you mean by that.

REP. SOUDER: In other words, the THC of ditchweed and what was happening when I was in college in the late '60s and early '70s had a THC of 4 to 8 percent, maybe as high as 12. Now we're looking at 20, 30, 40 percent. And the kick and the addiction you get, the destruction in your brain cells, is more like coke or crack than it is like the old-time marijuana.

Rep. Souder made these comments as he was defending the Bush Administration’s request for more funding for anti-marijuana TV ads that have been shown to actually increase youth marijuana use. One of the reasons the campaign has backfired is that the ads make ridiculous statements that teens reject, such as equating marijuana use with terrorism and suggesting that smoking marijuana will lead one to kill people.

For the importance of 100% honesty when talking to teens about drugs see our Safety First website.

Sincerely,



Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance