Pubdate: Tue, 1 May 2001 Source: Maple Ridge News (CN BC) Copyright: 2001 Maple Ridge News Contact: http://www.mapleridgenews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1328 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n737/a02.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) LEGALIZE IT, U.S. THINK TANK SAYS Editor, The News: Re: Grow houses creating hazards for firefighters (April 25). The indoor marijuana grow fire hazards exposed by Maple Ridge firefighters are a direct result of marijuana prohibition. The plants pose no such risk when growing outdoors. If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms marijuana would be legal. Alcohol poisoning kills thousands annually. Marijuana, on the other hand, has never been shown to cause an overdose death. Canadian tax dollars are being wasted on anti-drug strategies that only make marijuana growing more profitable. The drug war's distortion of basic supply and demand dynamics makes an easily grown weed literally worth its weight in gold. The thriving black market has no controls for age, making it easier for teenagers to buy illegal drugs than beer. Politicians need to stop worrying about the message drug policy reform sends to children and start thinking about the children themselves. In Europe, the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation. Separating the hard and soft drug markets and establishing age controls for marijuana has proven more effective than zero tolerance. As the most popular illicit drug in Canada, marijuana provides the black market contacts that introduce users to drugs like heroin. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol, it makes no sense to waste tax dollars on policies that finance organized crime groups like the Hells Angels and facilitate the use of deadly hard drugs. I regret not having Canadian statistics for you. If you are interested, a dated comparison of Dutch vs. U.S. rates of drug use can be found at: www.netherlands-embassy.org/c_drugstat.html More recent figures can be found at: www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm Annual Causes of Death in the U.S.: www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm Our organization's website is at www.drugpolicy.org Robert Sharpe Program Officer The Lindesmith Center Drug Policy Foundation Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager