Pubdate: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 Source: Sun News (SC) Copyright: 2001 Sun Publishing Co. Contact: P.O. Box 406, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578-0406 Feedback: http://www.thesunnews.com/cust/editorial.htm Website: http://www.thesunnews.com/ Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n348/a08.html MARIJUANA - REGULATE DRUG USE, BUT DON'T PROHIBIT IT Re. Russell Sadler [story, The Sun News, Feb. 25]. What exactly did parents hope to accomplish in pushing for harsher penalties for the high-school president in Oregon busted for marijuana possession? There are better ways to protect children from drugs than destroying the lives of those caught with them in order to send a message. Drug laws destroy far more lives than drugs. And marijuana prohibition does far more harm than marijuana. As the most popular illicit drug, marijuana provides the black market contacts that introduce users to addictive drugs like heroin. The "gateway" status ascribed to marijuana is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed drug policy. There are cost-effective alternatives to current policy. The Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation. Dutch rates of drug use are significantly lower than U.S. rates in every category. Robert Sharpe, M.P.A. Program Officer, The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, Washington - --- MAP posted-by: GD