Pubdate: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 Source: News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA) Copyright: 2009 Tacoma News Inc. Contact: http://www.thenewstribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/442 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n617/a09.html Author: Robert Sharpe POT: DRUG LAWS DON'T KEEP PEOPLE FROM USING Kevin Sabet (Other Views, 6-14) makes the common mistake of assuming that marijuana prohibition has a significant impact on U.S. rates of marijuana use. Punitive marijuana laws have little, if any, deterrent value. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults over 18. The only clear winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a relatively harmless plant. Robert Sharpe; Policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake