Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jun 2013
Source: News-Sentinel, The (Fort  Wayne, IN)
Copyright: 2013 The News-Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.news-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1077
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n271/a12.html

STOP POINTLESS ARRESTS, TAX LEGAL MARIJUANA

Regarding Andrea Neal's June 14 column, the days when our federal 
government can get away with confusing the drug war's 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 of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is 
a catastrophic failure. The United States has double the rate of use 
as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. 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.

This country can no longer afford to subsidize the prejudices of 
culture warriors. Not just in Colorado and Washington State but 
throughout the nation, it's time to stop the pointless arrests and 
instead tax legal marijuana.

Robert Sharpe, MPA, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

www.csdp.org
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom