Pubdate: Tue, 17 Dec 2013 Source: Independent (UK) Copyright: 2013 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd. Contact: http://www.independent.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n591/a06.html VOICE OF SANITY AMID THE 'WAR ON DRUGS' Uruguay is the first country brave enough to point out that the emperor wears no clothes. The days when governments can get away with confusing the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant are coming to an end. If the goal of cannabis prohibition is to subsidise violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. If the goal is to deter use, cannabis prohibition is a catastrophic failure. Consider the experience of the former land of the free and current record holder in citizens incarcerated. The United States has double the rate of cannabis use of the Netherlands, where cannabis is legal. The global criminalisation of people who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on cannabis consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. Not just in Uruguay but throughout the world, it's time to stop the arrests and instead tax legal cannabis. Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington DC - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom