Pubdate: Wed, 26 Mar 2014
Source: Calhoun Times (GA)
Copyright: 2014 Calhoun Times
Contact:  http://www.calhountimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3221
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n273/a07.html

FIRED UP OVER WEED DEBATE

Written in response to the March 22 column by Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathis:

Dear Editor, the people of Colorado and Washington state are way 
ahead of the politicians in Washington, D.C. The days when Congress 
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 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 U.S. 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 and Washington but throughout the nation, it's 
time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana. 
2008 WHO survey confirming higher rates of use in United States: 
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050141

United Nations drug stats: http:// www.unodc.org/...Comparative 
analysis of U.S. vs. Dutch rates of drug use: 
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/ Netherlands_v_US

Sincerely,

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom