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