Pubdate: Fri, 09 Jan 2004 Source: Langley Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 BC Newspaper Group and New Media Development Contact: http://www.langleytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1230 Author: Robert Sharpe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n016/a02.html POT NEEDS REGULATED MARKET Editor: This is a response to your Dec. 28 editorial and Jan. 2 guest editorial on marijuana legalization. There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, consumers will continue to come into contact with addictive drugs like cocaine. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Marijuana may be relatively harmless, but marijuana prohibition is deadly. In the words of Canadian Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin, "Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue, but as a social and public health issue." The biggest obstacle to marijuana law reform in Canada is the U.S. government. Despite evidence that punitive marijuana laws fail to deter use, the former land of the free and current record holder in citizens incarcerated continues to use its superpower status to export its failed drug policies around the globe. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country, yet the U.S. is one of the few Western countries that uses its criminal justice system to punish citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. The short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential, compared to the long-term effects of criminal records. Unfortunately, marijuana represents the counterculture to reactionaries intent on legislating their version of morality. Canada should follow the lead of Europe and Just Say No to the American Inquisition. The results of a comparative study of European and U.S. rates of drug use can be found at: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/espad_pr.pdf Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh