Pubdate: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2001 The Abbotsford Times Contact: http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1009 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n2063/a04.html SEPARATE HARD AND SOFT DRUGS The Editor: Cale Cowan's excellent Dec. 11 column was right on target. Legalizing all drugs is indeed an extreme solution, but decriminalizing drug use would at least allow problem users to seek help without fear of criminal sanctions. Driving drug use underground discourages the type of honest discussion necessary to facilitate treatment. Would alcoholics seek help for their illness if doing so were tantamount to confessing to criminal activity? Speaking of honest discussion, Cowan is absolutely right about marijuana being less harmful than tobacco or alcohol. Unlike alcohol, which kills thousands annually, marijuana is incapable of causing an overdose death. Not even aspirin can make the same claim. Likewise, pot does not share the addictive properties of tobacco or heroin. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but marijuana prohibition is far more dangerous than the plant itself. When threatened, the entrenched interests riding the drug war gravy train predictably decry the "message" that drug policy reform sends to children. There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana use and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with enforceable age controls. Right now kids have an easier time buying pot than beer. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is especially critical. As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, consumers will continue to come into contact with hard drugs like cocaine. Taxing and regulating marijuana is a cost-effective alternative to the failed drug war. Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like to think that the children themselves are more important than the message. Opportunistic politicians who depend on tough-on-drugs rhetoric to scare up votes would no doubt disagree. Robert Sharpe, M.P.A. Program Officer The Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth