Pubdate: Wed, 17 Apr 2013
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2013 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Author: Robert Sharpe

PROHIBITION DOESN'T MAKE MUCH SENSE

Nevada had better act fast if it wants to cash in on marijuana 
tourism. As evidenced by the 2012 elections, the days when our 
federal government can successfully get away with confusing the drug 
war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless 
plant are quickly 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 of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, 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. It's time to stop the pointless arrests and instead 
tax legal marijuana.

Robert Sharpe, Washington, D.C.

The author is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom