Pubdate: Fri, 22 Feb 2013 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2013 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://news.bostonherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Note: Prints only very short LTEs. Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n084/a08.html Author: Robert Sharpe END POT "'PROHIBITION' The medical marijuana concerns raised by the Massachusetts Medical Society do not justify throwing good money after bad policy (Feb. 19). If the goal of marijuana =93prohibition=94 is to subsidize drug cartels, it is a grand success. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, it is a catastrophic failure. The United States has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition not an evidence-based public health campaign. =AD Robert Sharpe, Washington, D.C. The writer is a policy analyst with Common Sense for Drug Policy. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom