Pubdate: Fri, 15 May 2015
Source: Nelson Star (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/nelsonstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4866
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n260/a02.html

TIME TO TAX LEGAL MARIJUANA

Re: "Nelson grapples with pot dispensaries," May 8

Not only should medical marijuana be available in Nelson, but all
adult use should be legal, taxed, and regulated. Marijuana prohibition
is indefensible. Neighboring US states have legalized marijuana.
Ottawa can no longer claim Canada must uphold marijuana prohibition in
order to maintain good US relations. Consider the experience of
Canada's southern neighbor. The US has almost double the lifetime rate
of marijuana use as the Netherlands where marijuana has been legally
available for decades.

If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic
failure. If the goal is to subsidize violent drug cartels and open a
gateway to the hard drugs they sell, marijuana prohibition is a grand
success.

The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money
grows on little trees. The criminalization of citizens who prefer
marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on cannabis
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, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy
Washington, DC
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MAP posted-by: Matt