Pubdate: Thu, 19 Dec 2013
Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA)
Copyright: 2013 The Record
Website: http://www.recordnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/428
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n597/a04.html

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION MAKES SENSE

Regarding Michael Fitzgerald's Dec. 15 column, not only should medical
marijuana be made available to patients in need, but adult
recreational use should be regulated. The days when our federal
government can get away with confusing the drug war's tremendous
collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant are coming to an
end.

If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug
cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply
and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees.

If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic
failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the
Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. The criminalization of
Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science.

The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not
an evidence-based public health campaign.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.