Pubdate: Tue, 20 Nov 2012
Source: Guelph Mercury (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 Guelph Mercury Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://news.guelphmercury.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1418
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n581/a06.html

POLITICIANS ONLY WINNERS IN WAR ON POT

Re: I'm writing in response to Greg Mercer's Nov. 10 column: "Guelph 
cannabis club charges go up in smoke."

Now that neighbouring Washington state and Colorado have legalized 
marijuana, Ottawa can no longer claim Canada must uphold marijuana 
prohibition in order to maintain good U.S. relations.

In 2002, the Canadian Senate offered a common sense alternative to 
marijuana prohibition when the special committee on illegal drugs 
concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, prohibition 
contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have 
little impact on patterns of use.

Consider the experience of the former land of the free and current 
world leader in per capita incarceration. The United States has 
double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana 
is legally available.

The only winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and 
shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers confusing 
the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a plant.

Robert Sharpe

policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy,

Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom