Pubdate: Thu, 13 Dec 2012
Source: Columbian, The (WA)
Copyright: 2012 The Columbian Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.columbian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/92
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n627/a03.html

STATE IS AHEAD IN POLICYMAKING

The voters of Washington state are way ahead of the politicians in 
Washington, D.C. The cautions outlined in a Dec. 6 editorial, "Pot: 
Proceed with caution," highlight the pressing need for marijuana law 
reform on a national level. 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 of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, 
prohibition is a failure. The United States has 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. As a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug 
Policy, I think the federal war on marijuana consumers is a failed 
cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign.

Robert Sharpe

Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom