Pubdate: Sat, 04 May 2013
Source: Middletown Press, The (CT)
Copyright: 2013 The Middletown Press
Contact:  http://www.middletownpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/586
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n184/a11.html

STOP POINTLESS ARRESTS, TAX LEGAL MARIJUANA

Regarding Emily Schwartz Greco and William A. Collins' May 1 op-ed, 
the voters of Colorado and Washington state are way ahead of the 
politicians in Washington, D.C.

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 marijuana use as the 
Netherlands, where marijuana is legal.

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.

It's time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana.

Robert Sharpe, policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom