Pubdate: Fri, 07 Jun 2013
Source: Times, The  (Munster IN)
Copyright: 2013 The Munster Times
Contact:  http://www.nwitimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/832
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n246/a08.html

WAR ON MARIJUANA IS FAILED CULTURAL INQUISITION

Regarding Andrea Neal's June 4 column, 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 
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.

It's time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana.

- - Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom