Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jan 2014
Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
Copyright: 2014 Robert Sharpe
Contact: http://www.statesman.com/default/content/feedback/lettersubmit.html
Website: http://www.statesman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/32
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Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n023/a01.html

PROHIBITION NEVER WORKED

Re: Jan. 7 commentary, "Marijuana: Been there, done that and moved on."

Columnist David Brooks makes the common mistake of assuming that
marijuana prohibition actually deters use. If the goal of marijuana
prohibition is to subsidize Mexican 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
almost 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. Not just in Colorado but throughout the
nation, it's time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal
marijuana.

Robert Sharpe

Arlington, Va.
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