Dr. George Lundberg has been writing on addictions since 1969.  He writes with a refreshing honesty and without concern for political correctness.  He recently authored a short piece on drug policy in Medscape, an on-line publication for health professionals. In the article, he describes his own approach to drug policy issues in the framework of the physicians’ dictum “Do no harm.”

On the marijuana legalization issue, his comments are particularly pointed.  Here’s an excerpt —

Enforcing the American laws pertaining to cannabis has been hugely harmful to individuals, families, society, and economics. The intelligent American public has acted on its good common sense by voting to change those laws dramatically, at long last. Our local, state, and federal prisons should be emptied of vast numbers of nonviolent inmates who were wrongly incarcerated for simple cannabis possession. One could make a case for replacing them one by one with the evil-spirited politicians and law enforcers who, out of ignorance or ideology, put them in the slammer. Approval of medical marijuana is a no-brainer. Decriminalization and regulation of cannabis for entertainment is almost as simple a call.

Lundberg’s views, which would have been radical just a few short years ago, now find wide acceptance among the public. Politicians, many of whom are stuck in a War on Drugs mindset, have yet to catch up.

Here is the website for the article.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/837313?nlid=74303_439&src=wnl_edit_medp_publ&uac=27720CV&spon=42