Business // Current

James Bond is Indian Hero, Brand James Bond Images, James Bond Pictures

James Bond is not only your hero, but the hero of a large number of Indians. Generations of Indians have grown up with the heroics... more

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India ‘Sinks Somali Pirate Ship’

The Indian navy has said that one of its warships in the Gulf of Aden has destroyed a ship belonging to pirates operating off the... more

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A Sea Route to the Northeast in the Making

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Who Is New Yahoo CEO, Big decisions for the new Yahoo CEO, New Yahoo CEO must be Microsoft deal

San Francisco: To impress shareholders, Yahoo Inc's next chief executive needs just one qualification: the willingness to do... more

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Yahoo!'s Five Biggest Mistakes

The Web portal's employees open up (a little) about the company's problems.

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Perfume maker sues musician Prince

A perfume company that went into business with musician Prince to make a "3121" fragrance -- named after his 2006 album... more

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Prepaid Calling Card Scam

The prepaid calling card scam has been going on for years. Senator Nelson of Florida has sponsored legislation to put a stop to... more

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How to Increase Productivity with Accountability

When you know someone’s keeping tabs, the incentive to perform is more obvious. Ideally, we rely on our own desire to create... more

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Fuel costs mean Easyjet profits fall 45%

Higher fuel costs have meant that airline Easyjet's annual profits have fallen 45%. This decrease occurred despite flying... more

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Yang to Step Down as Yahoo CEO

Yahoo Inc. co-founder and Chief Executive Jerry Yang will step down after the company finds a replacement, closing a tumultuous... more

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World Markets Sink Amid Global Gloom

Asian stock markets sank Tuesday after Wall Street retreated and global financial firms announced another round of massive... more

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We’ve Cut Cigarette Smoking By Half and We Didnt Have To Arrest 20 Million Americans To Do It

November 17th, 2008

According to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control, fewer Americans are smoking cigarettes than at any time in modern history.

The number of U.S. adults who smoke has dropped below 20 percent for the first time on record, Reuters reported. This is less than half the percentage (42 percent) of Americans who smoked cigarettes during the 1960s.

Imagine that; in the past 40 years tens of millions of Americans have voluntarily quit smoking a legal, yet highly addictive intoxicant. Millions of others have refused to initiate the habit. And they’ve all made this decision without ever once being threatened with criminal prosecution and arrest, imprisonment, probation, and drug testing.

By contrast, during this same period of time, state and local police have arrested some 20 million Americans for pot law violations ‹ primarily for violations no greater than simple possession. And yet marijuana use among the public has skyrocketed from an annual rate of 0.6 million new users in 1965 to some 2.5 annual new users today.

There’s a lesson to be learned here, of course. Tobacco, though harmful to health, is a legally regulated commodity. Sellers are licensed and held accountable by federal and state laws. Users are restricted by age. Advertising and access is limited by state and federal governments. And health warnings regarding the drug’s use are based upon credible science.

By contrast, marijuana remains an unregulated black market commodity. Sellers are typically criminal entrepreneurs who, for the most part, operate undetected from law enforcement and are free to sell their product to any person of any person. Unlike tobacco, marijuana’s packaging carries no warning label, and government ‘education’ campaign’s regarding pot’s use are based almost explicitly upon hyperbole, propaganda, and laughable stereotypes.

Is it any wonder why use of one drug is going down at the same time that use of the other is rising?

If federal lawmakers truly wished to address marijuana use, they would take a page from their successful campaign to reduce the use of cigarettes. This would include taxing and regulating cannabis with the drug’s sale and use restricted to specific markets and consumers.

While such an alternative may not entirely eliminate the black market demand for pot, it would certainly be preferable to today’s blanket, though thoroughly ineffective, expensive and impotent criminal prohibition.

Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director of NORML and the NORML Foundation in Washington, DC. He may be contact by e-mail at: paul@norml.org.November 17th, 2008 According to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control, fewer Americans are smoking... more