Pubdate: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 Source: Times-Tribune, The (Scranton PA) Copyright: 2014 Townnews.com Contact: http://www.thetimes-tribune.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4440 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n351/a02.html ALL IN ON POT FOR ANY PURPOSE Editor: Regarding Gregory Gerdeman'=C2=80=C2=99s April 20 op-ed, not only should medical marijuana be made available, but all marijuana use should be legally regulated. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers do not ID for age. Right now kids have an easier time buying pot than beer. 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 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'=C2=80=C2 =99s time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana. ROBERT SHARPE POLICY ANALYST, COMMON SENSE FOR DRUG POLICY, WASHINGTON, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt