Allen St Pierre

Salem-News.com’s Bonnie King’s interview with NORML Executive Director Allen St Pierre. One of the quotes in a report that we heard is that it’s harder to kick marijuana, more people are actually in addiction clinics for marijuana, than for heroin. What kind of response do you have to a statement like that? ASP: When prohibition used that data point, its usually a very good demonstration of how disingenuous they are because they all realize, as I do, that it’s a Hobson’s choice in America; if you get arrested for marijuana, you have a choice to either go to jail in the criminal justice system, or rehab. I would choose rehab in a moment rather than go to jail. So, that is a very false analogy that is used, that cannabis puts people into rehab when they’re simply choosing to go to rehab rather than jail. And that’s been going on for about 15 years, so anybody that ever uses that statistical point is usually a disingenuous soul.