"Hmm."

Now you're starting to feel your oats. "So do you want to sign the petition and help to end the failed and costly prohibition."

"I don't think I'm ready to do that yet. But I'm going to think about it. At least I'm not going to call the cops on you."

"Like calling the cops would help something. If I did get busted and went to jail you would be breaking up the family, my kids would probably have to come live with you at your expense, and your tax dollars would be used to finance my incarceration."

"Maybe I will sign that just to keep you out of jail. It costs too much."

"You're damn right it costs too much. It costs about $32,000 a year to keep an inmate in a Michigan prison. I don't know how many people are imprisoned for marijuana in Michigan but it's got to add up to millions in costs. Do you really want to pay that bill?"

Well, maybe you can't override a lifetime of drug war propaganda in one conversation, but you can sow a few seeds of doubt. In the long run, that may be enough to blunt the opposition and make for a successful petition drive.

See the online version for a link to more on the lung-capacity research.

> Email Larry Gabriel