Pubdate: Mon, 9 Jun 2008 Source: Florida Today (Melbourne, FL) Copyright: 2008 Florida Today Contact: http://www.flatoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/532 Author: Robert Sharpe STOP WASTING TAX DOLLARS ON POT BUSTS International drug cartels are the prime beneficiaries of indoor marijuana eradication efforts. As long as there is a demand for marijuana, there will be a supply. Eliminating a local cottage industry only to have it replaced by organized crime groups that also sell cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine is not necessarily a good thing. 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 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 sellers of hard drugs. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal 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 Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake