Pubdate: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA) Copyright: 2013 Santa Cruz Sentinel Contact: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/submitletters Website: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n511/a01.html WAR ON MARIJUANA POINTLESS AND PETTY Regarding your Oct. 20 editorial, no further research is needed. The results are already in. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a 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, Common Sense for Drug Policy - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom