Pubdate: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 Source: Rebel Yell (Las Vegas, NV Edu) Copyright: 2004 Rebel Yell Contact: http://www.ryunlv.com/main.cfm?include=submit Website: http://www.ryunlv.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1362 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1279/a09.html and http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1278/a07.html Cited: Students for Sensible Drug Policy ( www.ssdp.org ) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) MORE ON LEGAL BUD Dear Editor, The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, by far the most popular illicit drug. Punitive marijuana laws have little, if any, deterrent value. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States than any European country, yet America is one of the few Western countries that uses its criminal justice system to punish citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. The short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of criminal records. Unfortunately, marijuana represents the counterculture to many Americans. In subsidizing the prejudices of culture warriors, the U.S. government is subsidizing organized crime. The drug war's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand make an easily grown weed literally worth its weight in gold. The only clear winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers on confusing drug prohibition's collateral damage with a relatively harmless plant. The big losers in this battle are the taxpayers deluded into believing big government is the appropriate response to non-traditional consensual vices. Students who want to help end the intergenerational culture war otherwise known as the war on some drugs should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at www.ssdp.org. Sincerely, Robert Sharpe, MPA Common Sense for Drug Policy - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake