Pubdate: Wed, 02 Dec 2015
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n675/a09.html

VA.'S OUTDATED MARIJUANA LAWS

Regarding the Nov. 27 Metro article "Va. pot arrests defy trend":

The Central Virginia Marijuana Task Force is guilty of using 
marijuana prohibition's collateral damage to justify throwing good 
money at bad public policy. Illegal marijuana in Virginia is a 
gateway to hard drugs because it is distributed by drug cartels that 
sell meth, cocaine and heroin. These criminals do not require 
identification to prove ages and kill to resolve business disputes 
over border trafficking routes.

Legal marijuana in Colorado is sold by tightly regulated retailers 
that generate state tax revenue, require identification for proof of 
age and sell locally grown marijuana exclusively.

Colorado has closed the gateway to hard drugs. It's wide-open in 
Virginia, where marijuana prohibition subsidizes drug cartels and 
related criminal activity. Virginia state Sen. Adam P. Ebbin 
(D-Alexandria) is to be commended for his efforts to reform 
Virginia's outdated marijuana laws.

Robert Sharpe, Arlington

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