Pubdate: Wed, 06 Aug 2014
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2014 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n636/a01.html

MAKE MARIJUANA SENSE

Regarding "End prohibition" (Page B6, Saturday), thank you for 
calling for an end to marijuana prohibition in your editorial. 
Mexican drug cartels are no doubt thrilled with our federal 
government's insistence that marijuana remain illegal. 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 almost 
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. It's time to stop the 
pointless arrests and instead allow states to legally tax and 
regulate marijuana sales.

Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst

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