Friday, July 31, 2015

D.A.R.E Accidentally Posts Pro Marijuana Legalization Letter

Posted By on Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 1:42 PM

D.A.R.E., the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program kids like me had to attend weekly in elementary school, published a letter titled “Purchasing marijuana puts kids at risk"—a post which was calling for the legalization of the drug. 

The piece, originally posted as a letter to the editor in the Columbus Dispatch, was written by former deputy sheriff Carlis McDerment. McDerment argues that it would be easier to keep kids away from pot if it were legalized and distribution was regulated: 
The goal of prohibiting marijuana was to eradicate its use, but in reality, the drug has become infinitely harder for law enforcement to control. People like me, and other advocates of marijuana legalization, are not totally blind to the harms that drugs pose to children. We just happen to know that legalizing and regulating marijuana will actually make everyone safer. Merely decriminalizing it will do nothing to undercut the dangerous illicit market that is currently selling to kids everywhere.
It looks like D.A.R.E. republished the article (without reading it, obviously) after it came up in a news service they are subscribe to. Daren, D.A.R.E.'s "adorable yet courageous and street-smart mascot," must be so disappointed. Or maybe he's the one who published it. We'll never know. 

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Chelo Grubb

Bookworm, cat lady, journalism enthusiast.