Pubdate: Fri, 25 Feb 2000
Date: 02/25/2000
Source: Times, The (UK)
Author: Robert Sharpe
Note: Author is Graduate student, George Washington University

Sir, I believe Britain's gangbusters are just as worried about having
their budgets cut as American drug warriors. When threatened,
misinformation is the first defense.

According to your report (February 18), the National Crime Squad is
claiming that softening cannabis laws will fuel organized crime.
Cannabis is a weed and grows like one. If it were legal, selling it
would be less profitable than selling lettuce or tomatoes.

More important, separating the soft and hard drug markets would stop
putting users of the most popular illicit drug (cannabis) in contact
with pushers of heroin and cocaine.

Given that cannabis is acknowledged by many public health experts to
be less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, it makes no sense to
perpetuate draconian drug policies which facilitate the introduction
of hard drugs to youth.

Sincerely,
ROBERT SHARPE,

(Graduate student, George Washington University), 3201 Wisconsin
Avenue, NW, Apt. 701, Washington DC 20016. February 18.