Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jan 2003
Source: Bradley News Weekly, The (TN)
Copyright: 2003 The Bradley County News, Inc
Contact:  http://www.bradleyweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1504
Author: Robert Sharpe

STILL BALLIN'

Dear Weekly:

Tennessee's hazardous methamphetamine labs are reminiscent of the deadly 
exploding liquor stills that sprung up throughout the nation during alcohol 
prohibition. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given 
rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for 
age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. So much for 
protecting the children.

Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the 
supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the 
profitability of drug trafficking. In terms of addictive drugs like meth, a 
spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal 
activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it 
fuels crime.

There are cost-effective alternatives. In Europe, the Netherlands has 
successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing marijuana prohibition 
with adult regulation. Dutch rates of drug use are significantly lower than 
U.S. rates in every category. Separating the hard and soft drug markets and 
establishing age controls for marijuana has proven more effective than 
never-ending drug war.

Here in the U.S. marijuana provides the black market contacts that 
introduce consumers to addictive drugs like meth. This "gateway" is the 
direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Unlike alcohol, marijuana 
has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the 
addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana may be relatively harmless, but 
marijuana prohibition is deadly.

By - Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom