Pubdate: Thu, 09 Jun 2011 Source: Chico News & Review, The (CA) Copyright: 2011 Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact: http://www.newsreview.com/chico/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/559 Author: Robert Sharpe MISPLACED PRIORITIES Re "Disgust" (From the Edge, by Anthony Peyton Porter, June 2): The Butte County Board of Supervisors' support for marijuana prohibition is misguided. In 2009, there were 858,405 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana over martinis. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. Taxing and regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete. As long as organized crime controls distribution, marijuana consumers will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Robert Sharpe, MPA Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart