Pubdate: Mon, 18 Mar 2013
Source: Portland Daily Sun (ME)
Copyright: 2013 The Portland Daily Sun
Contact:  http://portlanddailysun.me/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5257
Author: Robert Sharpe

POT LAWS SUBSIDIZE VIOLENT DRUG CARTELS

The people of Colorado and Washington state are way ahead of the 
politicians in Washington, D.C. 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 of marijuana prohibition is to 
deter use, prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States 
has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is 
legally available. 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. This country can no longer afford to 
subsidize the prejudices of culture warriors. It's time to stop the 
pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana.

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy 
www.csdp.org Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom