Pubdate: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) Copyright: 2000 PG Publishing Contact: 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Fax: (412) 263-2014 Feedback: http://www.post-gazette.com/contact/letters.asp Website: http://www.post-gazette.com/ Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1153/a08.html LEGALIZING MARIJUANA WOULD HELP OUR NATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS I'm not surprised to read that drugs are readily available in Pittsburgh area schools ("Schools Rife With Drugs," Aug. 11). The drug war fails miserably at its primary mandate: protecting children from drugs. According to the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, teen-agers report that marijuana is easier to obtain than beer. Such is the nature of the black market. Drug dealers don't ID for age. But they do push the more profitable, addictive drugs when given the chance. While there is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to try drugs like heroin, its black-market status puts users in contact with criminals who push them. Currently, drug policy is effectively a gateway policy. The drug war is part of a larger cultural war that should have ended decades ago. It's putting America's children in harm's way. Rather than continue to waste taxes on a futile effort that does little other than enrich organized crime, marijuana should be legalized for adults, with the tax windfall used for drug education programs aimed at reducing demand. Such regulation is desperately needed -- the so-called controlled substances sold on the black market are completely out of control. This proposed harm-reduction shift may "send the wrong message" to children, but I like to think that the children themselves are more important than the message. ROBERT SHARPE, Member, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, George Washington University Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: John Chase