Pubdate: Wed, 13 Nov 2013
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2013 The Detroit News
Contact:  http://www.detroitnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n538/a03.html

THE DRUG WAR SUCCEEDS

The drug war is largely a war on marijuana, by far the most popular 
illicit drug. 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 is to deter use, marijuana 
prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States has double 
the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is 
tolerated. 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. Not just in Washington and Colorado 
but throughout the nation, it's time to stop the pointless arrests 
and instead tax legal marijuana.

Robert Sharpe, policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy, Arlington, Va.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom