It could have been a hoax, but several outlets are reporting that D.A.R.E., the infamous anti-drug crusade from the 1980s, recently published a pro-legalization op-ed on it's website. The supposed post has since been removed from the site.

The most reliable sighting comes from New Yorker magazine's website, which reports that the op-ed was written by former deputy sheriff Carlis McDerment in response to a letter in the Columbus Dispatch warning of the supposed dangers that marijuana legalization poses to children. The reasonable response by the former law enforcement official makes the obvious case that the marijuana black market is open to children of all ages, while regulating legal marijuana makes it easier to keep away from kids.

"People like me, and other advocates of marijuana legalization, are not totally blind to the harms that drugs pose to children," McDerment reportedly wrote. "We just happen to know that legalizing and regulating marijuana will actually make everyone safer."

The big problem here is that the letter in question is not currently posted on the D.A.R.E. website. However, traces still appear on Google search, indicating that the article was posted 3 days ago. We also managed to find the full text of the post as it originally appeared on the Dispatch website archived thanks to pro-marijuana organization NORML. You can read it here.

[UPDATE]

D.A.R.E. has confirmed that the posting of the Op-Ed on their site was a mistake. The group has not changed it's stance, although perhaps someone in their newsroom has.

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