Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jan 2008
Source: Santa Barbara Independent, The (CA)
Copyright: 2008 The Santa Barbara Independent, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.independent.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4348
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1478/a05.html?110052
Author: Robert Sharpe

REGULATION, NOT REPRESSION

In response to "Smoochin' the Pooch" [Angry Poodle  Barbecue, Dec. 
20]: Not only should medical marijuana  be made available to patients 
in need, but adult  recreational use should be regulated. 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 immune to adult  sentences. So much for 
protecting the children.

Throwing more money at the problem is no solution.  Attempts to limit 
the supply of illegal drugs while  demand remains constant only 
increase the profitability  of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs 
like heroin, a  spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to 
increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits.  The drug war 
doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

Taxing and regulating marijuana, the most popular  illicit drug, is a 
cost-effective alternative to a  never-ending drug war. As long as 
marijuana  distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, 
consumers will continue to come into contact with hard  drugs like 
methamphetamine. 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 hard drug use. 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
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart