Pubdate: Tue, 28 Jan 2014
Source: Concord Monitor (NH)
Copyright: 2014 Robert Sharpe
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/WbpFSdHB
Website: http://www.concordmonitor.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/767
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n091/a05.html

MARIJUANA PROHIBITION HAS BEEN A DANGEROUS FAILURE

Re "Legalize pot? There's no need to rush" (Sunday Monitor editorial,
Jan. 26):

There is no reason to continue throwing good money after bad drug
policy. 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 is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic
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.
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

Washington, D.C.

(The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.) 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D