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DRUG POLICIES

Dear Editor,

I'm writing about Robert Sharpe's thoughtful letter, "Common sense for drug policy" Nov.  8.  Speaking of drug policy...

It seems to me that in order to properly evaluate our nation's drug policies, we need to compare and contrast our drug policies with those of another nation with substantially different drug policies.  I suggest that we use the Czech Republic for our comparison.

In the Czech Republic, citizens can legally use, possess, grow or purchase small quantities of marijuana.

In the United States, many otherwise law abiding citizens are locked in prison cages for possessing, growing or selling various amounts of marijuana.

The Czech overall drug arrest rate is one per 100,000 population.  The U.  S.  overall drug arrest rate is 585 per 100,000 population.  The Czech robbery rate is two per 100,000 population.  The U.  S.  robbery rate is 160.2 per 100,000 population, according to the F.B.I.

According to our drug war cheerleaders, tolerant marijuana laws cause people to use other, much more dangerous drugs like meth and heroin.

Obviously, this doesn't happen in the Czech Republic.  Why not? Could it be that when people can legally obtain marijuana at an affordable price, they tend not to use or desire any other recreational drugs?

Could it be that marijuana legalization actually creates a roadblock to hard drug use-- not a gateway?

Sincerely,

Kirk Muse

Mesa, AZ