Pubdate: Sat, 23 Feb 2013
Source: News-Item, The (PA)
Copyright: 2013 The News Item
Contact:  http://www.newsitem.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3556
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n084/a05.html

STOP THE ARRESTS; TAX LEGAL MARIJUANA

To the editor: Regarding Paul Carpenter's Feb. 19 column, if the goal 
of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, 
prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply and 
demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees.

If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition 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.

This country can no longer afford to subsidize the prejudices of 
culture warriors. It's time to stop the arrests and instead tax legal 
marijuana.

Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom