Pubdate: Thu, 02 May 2013
Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
Copyright: 2013 Sun Media
Contact: http://www.thewhig.com/letters
Website: http://www.thewhig.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n180/a09.html
Author: Robert Sharpe

WAR ON DRUGS IS A FAILURE

Regarding Michel Kelly-Gagnon's April 27 column "Make money with pot, 
not war," now that neighbouring Washington state and Colorado have 
legalized marijuana, Ottawa can no longer claim Canada must uphold 
marijuana prohibition in order to maintain good U.S. relations. In 
2002, the Canadian Senate's Special Committee on Illegal Drugs 
concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, prohibition 
contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have 
little impact on patterns of use. Consider the experience of the 
former land of the free and current world leader in per capita 
incarceration. Despite decades of zero tolerance, the U.S. has higher 
rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is 
legally available. The only winners in the war on marijuana are drug 
cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers 
confusing the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a 
comparatively harmless plant.

Robert Sharpe,

Arlington, Virginia
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