Pubdate: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2002 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Robert Sharpe POLICIES FAILING That border drug cartels are using teenage "mules" to do their dirty work should not come as a surprise. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors who are immune to adult sentences. So much for protecting the children. In Europe, the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing marijuana prohibition with adult regulation. Dutch rates of drug use are significantly lower than U.S. rates in every category. Separating the hard and soft drug markets and establishing age controls for marijuana has proved to be more effective than zero tolerance policies. In the U.S., marijuana provides black market contacts that introduce consumers to addictive drugs. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Given that marijuana is arguably safer than alcohol -- the plant has never been shown to cause an overdose death -- it makes no sense to waste tax dollars on failed policies that finance organized crime and facilitate the use of hard drugs. Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like to think the children are more important than the message. Robert Sharpe program officer, Drug Policy Alliance Washington, DC - --- MAP posted-by: Beth